Gin and Tonic
by marauders4evr
Summary: Ginny Weasley is becoming quite annoyed with her family. The other Weasleys either ignore her or treat her like an infant. Yet when she moves to Grimmauld Place during the summer before her fourth year, she meets a man who knows just what it's like to hate his family. And as time goes on, Sirius and Ginny find a family in one another. NO-SLASH.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I'll be doing a small experiment with this story – I'll be posting it on both and my new account on AO3. I'll then compare the responses from each website.

This is a story that evolved from a small idea. I've noticed a few parallels between Sirius and Ginny and I really wanted to explore them. As the weeks passed, I began to think about them forming a father-daughter relationship. One thing led to another and this story was born!

Summary: Ginny Weasley is becoming quite annoyed with her family. The other Weasleys either ignore her or treat her like an infant. Yet when she moves to Grimmauld Place during the summer before her fourth year, she meets a man who knows just what it's like to hate his family. And as time goes on, Sirius and Ginny find a family in one another. NO-SLASH.

Chapter One

Ginny Weasley couldn't sleep.

Or rather, she didn't want to.

Besides, there were much more pressing matters to attend to.

She sat up and threw her blankets aside, scowling at the dark room.

She really hated this house.

They had moved in several days ago, though nobody had told her why.

Ginny had been quite happy to return to the Burrow after such a chaotic year, which had ended with the worst news that she possibly could have received. And yet, she had quickly realized that she hadn't returned to a peaceful household. Her father and one of her brothers had been drifting apart for quite some time. And on the night of their return, there had been a huge row. It was one of the few times that she had ever heard her father shout. Percy had moved out and her mother had cried for days. And then, one week after the term had ended, her mother had woken her up at the crack of dawn. Mrs. Weasley's demands had been quite frank: Ginny was to pack all of her things and she wasn't to ask questions.

Her brothers had looked just as confused as she had been. Were they going after Percy? The sleepy-eyed redheads had barely had time to comprehend what was happening before they had been forced to touch a portkey. The familiar kitchen had disappeared and they had landed in a grimy Muggle neighborhood. Their parents had finally informed them that they were to be moving into a house at the request of none other than Albus Dumbledore. Ginny had received quite a shock when her mother had informed her that the house was owned by Sirius Black. Apparently, he wasn't a mass-murderer after all! Apparently, he was also Harry's godfather!

Who knew?

Everyone but her, it seemed.

The only thing that Ginny knew was that moving here had something to do with a secret organization known as the Order of the Phoenix. Her siblings seemed to have some idea of what said organization was. Ginny, on the other hand, had no clue. She just knew that a lot of people were in it. Even a few of her professors had come knocking yesterday. Her mother had quickly sent her to her bedroom, keeping her in the dark both figuratively and literally.

'Not for long,' Ginny thought.

She leapt to her feet and tiptoed into the corridor. Her eyes swept every inch of the house as she carefully made her way downstairs. She didn't see anything remarkably unusual, aside from the severed house-elf heads. Her pulse quickened as she passed them.

She made it to the corridor on the ground floor, deciding to head down to the kitchens.

That's where the meetings were held. She felt her way along the wall; it was quite dark and she didn't want to turn on the lights. She would just go down there and…

Ginny gasped as she accidentally tripped over a loose floorboard.

She fell to the floor with a marvelous bang.

A high-pitched wail immediately filled the corridor.

She staggered to her feet and glared daggers at the howling portrait. It had frightened her the other day. Now, it was just bloody annoying.

"BLOOD TRAITOR! SNOOPING AROUND IN MY HOUSE! THE HOUSE OF MY VERY FATHERS! GET OUT! OUT, I SAY!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ginny boldly snapped.

A door to her left opened and someone cried, "Well said!"

Ginny gave a start as Sirius Black raced over and grabbed the curtain.

He turned to her and grunted, "Give me a hand."

She hesitated for a split second before bounding over.

She grabbed the curtain and pulled as hard as she could.

The two fought like mad and managed to cover the horrid woman.

Ginny's chest rapidly rose and fell.

"Nice work," Sirius Black cheerfully said.

"Thanks," Ginny gasped.

She glared at the hidden painting and muttered, "Vile old hag."

Sirius smirked and said, "I couldn't agree more."

"Who is she, anyway?" Ginny curiously asked.

His smirk deepened and he said, "My dear old mother."

Ginny paled and stammered, "I…I'm sorry…I didn't…"

Sirius raised his hand and gently said, "Trust me, you were spot on. I don't believe that we've formally met. Ginny, right?"

"Err…yeah!"

Ginny was genuinely surprised.

People were always giving her the wrong name: Jenny, Ginger, Genevieve, etc.

Whenever she would call them out on it, they would simply reply that there were too many Weasley children to keep track of.

"Short for Virginia?"

"Ginevra."

Sirius made a face.

Ginny laughed and said, "I'm not fond of it, either!"

Sirius stuffed his hands in his pockets and said, "So, Ginevra—"

Ginny scowled and he smirked before continuing, "—Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"You're joking?" Ginny cried, "I'm fourteen!"

"Relax," Sirius laughed, "I _am _joking. What're you doing up, anyway?"

Ginny suddenly flushed.

This was, after all, his house.

And she had been prowling about, sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

"I was exploring," Ginny admitted.

"It helps to see when you're exploring," Sirius wryly pointed out, "Why weren't you exploring with your brothers earlier?"

"They told me to bugger off," Ginny retorted, "I was going to hex them but Ron pointed out that I would be expelled."

"Oh, don't worry," Sirius replied, "The Ministry can't detect magic here. My father took care of that."

"Really?"

"Yep," Sirius laughed, "Hex away."

Ginny smirked at that.

"In the meantime," Sirius continued, "Feel free to explore. This old house is riddled with hundreds of secrets. There has to be at least a dozen secret passageways."

"Brilliant," Ginny cried, "Thanks."

She hesitated before slowly saying, "Can I…err…can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Sirius immediately said, "Anything."

Her eyes widened and she cried, "Really?"

"Mmhm."

She leaned forward and whispered, "What's the Order of the Phoenix?"

It was Sirius' turn to look surprised.

His brow furrowed and he cried, "Nobody told you?"

She shook her head.

"What the hell were they thinking?" Sirius muttered, "You need to be prepared…"

He hesitated before asking, "Do you know what happened last week?"

"Yes," Ginny immediately said, "Tom Riddle returned."

Of course she knew.

It had been on her mind ever since.

Sirius looked perplexed for a moment before saying, "Yeah. Dumbledore created the Order of the Phoenix to fight him. It's an army of sorts."

"Can I join?" Ginny immediately asked.

"Sure," Sirius wryly said, "With parental permission."

Ginny sighed.

The day her parents gave her permission to join the Order of the Phoenix was the day that Snape handed out sweets to his students.

"Then again…"

Ginny looked up as she realized that Sirius had grown solemn.

"Maybe it's better if you don't join," Sirius gravely said, "There's not much of the original Order of the Phoenix left…and history has a way of repeating itself…"

Ginny carefully surveyed him.

"Sorry," Sirius apologized, "You oughtn't be hearing that."

"No, it's okay," Ginny slowly said, "I…I want to hear it."

Sirius' eyebrows shot towards his hairline.

Ginny took a deep breath before explaining, "Everyone is always trying to shield me from the world, even though I've faced things that they couldn't possibly imagine."

Sirius' eyes flashed with curiosity but he remained silent.

"Mum has this habit of sweeping bad things under the rug," Ginny continued, "She thinks that the less we know, the better. But I disagree. I think that we need to be prepared. It's sort of like being in a room with a monster. You can try to close your eyes but…but that's not going to make the monster go away. Do you know what I mean?"

Sirius thoughtfully nodded.

"Anyway," Ginny sighed, "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome, Juniper."

Her head shot up and she repeated, "Juniper?"

He nodded.

"Well," Ginny eventually said, "It's certainly the most unique nickname that I've heard."

He laughed and Ginny jumped.

It was an unusual sound – almost like that of a barking dog.

"Well, Juniper," Sirius yawned, "I'm turning in. Feel free to keep exploring."

"Thanks, Mister Black."

"Oh, don't call me that," Sirius snorted, "Sirius, please. Or Padfoot."

"Padfoot?" Ginny repeated.

"Mmhm," Sirius sleepily said, "Old nickname from school."

Ginny tucked a piece of hair around her ear as she asked, "Did you make a map when you were at school?"

Sirius looked up.

Ginny beamed as she realized that he had.

"Yes," Sirius finally admitted, "My friends and I made it. How did you…?"

"Fred and George found it in their first year," Ginny explained, "They spent years using it to explore the castle before finally giving it to Harry."

"Harry has it?" Sirius excitedly asked.

Her smile widened and she nodded.

Sirius looked like Christmas had come early.

It was the first time that she had seen him genuinely smile.

She smiled back and said, "Well…'night."

"Take care, Juniper."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ginny's head was pounding.

She knew that there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

She had gone to bed shortly after talking to Sirius.

Still, she hadn't gotten much sleep.

She rarely did.

"Eat up, Ginny!"

Ginny jumped at her mother's command and quickly said, "Yes, Mum!"

Mrs. Weasley piled a mountain of food onto her daughter's plate.

Ginny gave her a weak smile but didn't touch anything.

Fortunately, her mother didn't notice.

She was too busy scolding the twins for one of their latest inventions.

"Morning, everyone!" Mr. Weasley cried, entering the small kitchen.

"Morning, Dad!"

"Spot of coffee, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Please," Mr. Weasley gratefully said.

"Can I have some?" Ginny spoke up.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley laughed, "You're way too young."

The laugh was forced—her eyes were still red-rimmed.

"Yes, Mum," Ginny sighed.

There was no point in arguing the matter.

The kitchen door reopened and Sirius entered.

He plopped into the seat next to Ginny and cheerfully said, "Hey, Juniper!"

Ginny grinned and said, "Hey, Sirius!"

"What did you call her?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Sirius merely chuckled.

"Her name's Ginny," Ron pointed out.

"He knows what my name is," Ginny sighed, "It's just a nickname."

Ron's brow furrowed and he mumbled, "Some nickname…"

"'Reckon it's better than Ronniekins," Ginny retorted.

Fred, George, and Sirius cracked up.

Ron's ears turned a marvelous shade of magenta.

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley spoke up, "Stop berating your brother!"

"Yeah," Fred cried, "There's nothing wrong with a name like Ickle Ronniekins!"

"It's a dashing name," George agreed.

They ducked their heads at their mother's glare.

Sirius helped himself to the sausages and said, "So, find anything last night?"

Ginny's eyes widened and she stifled a gasp.

"Find anything?" Mrs. Weasley repeated, "What do you mean? What was she finding?"

"Cobwebs," Sirius smoothly replied, "I told her to be on the lookout."

Ginny threw him an appreciative glance.

'Did you?' Sirius mouthed.

Ginny shook her head.

"Ginny," Ron spoke up, "Are you going to eat your sausage?"

She shook her head and pushed her plate towards him.

"Are you trying to lose weight or something?" Ron curiously asked.

Ginny sighed and said, "No, Ron."

"So, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley spoke up, "If you don't mind, I was thinking that we could all clean up the extra bedroom on the third floor?"

"Is Percy coming back?" Ginny asked.

Her mother abruptly burst into tears and her father hissed, "Ginny!"

"'Guess that's a 'no'," Sirius mumbled.

Ginny couldn't help it – she laughed.

"Ginny, please!" Mr. Weasley muttered.

He whispered words of comfort to his wife.

"It's alright," Mrs. Weasley shakily said, "_No_, Ginny, Percy is not coming…"

"I figured that much out on my own," Ginny muttered.

Sirius snorted.

"But you never know when a visitor might need to stay," Mrs. Weasley continued, "Is everyone done eating? Good. Let's go!"

She waved her wand and the dishes flew towards the sink.

Sirius' eyebrow twitched as he watched Ginny's plate soar past him. Other than the sausages, which had been obtained by Ron, not a single piece of food had been touched.

oOo

"Ginny!"

Ginny gave a start. She sleepily looked around, trying to get her bearings. She realized that she was sitting on the floor of the spare bedroom. They had spent all day cleaning. Her chore was to mop the floors. Ginny flushed as she realized that she must have dozed off…

Sure enough, her mother was reproachfully staring at her.

"None of _us_ are taking a break," Mrs. Weasley declared, "No slacking."

"Yes, how dare a teenager slack during their summer vacation!?"

Both women turned at the statement.

Sirius was sitting in the corner, looking amused.

Ginny's face broke out into a smile.

Unfortunately, her mother scowled.

Before she could say anything, however, Ron heaved a box over and grunted, "Where do you want this junk, Mum?"

"Fred, George," Mrs. Weasley commanded, "Help us take this up to the attic."

The twins begrudgingly complied.

"I want that floor mopped by the time we return," Mrs. Weasley called over her shoulder.

Ginny sighed.

She scrambled to her feet and Sirius did the same.

"Are you alright?" Sirius quietly asked.

"I…what?"

"Are you okay?"

Ginny merely stared at him.

How the hell was she supposed to reply to that!?

In the end, she plunged the mop into the bucket of water and mumbled, "I have to clean."

Sirius waved his wand and muttered, "Scorgify!"

The floor was immediately spotless.

"Thanks!" Ginny cried.

"Don't mention it," Sirius replied, "Careful though…it'll be a bit slippery."

Ginny stepped forward and realized that he was right.

Her mouth curved into a smirk.

She raced forward before abruptly stopping.

She slid halfway across the room.

Sirius laughed and kicked his own shoes off.

The two grinned and pretended to skate around.

Ginny's smile widened as Sirius preformed quite an impressive stunt.

She tried to mimic it.

Unfortunately, when she landed, she found herself stumbling backwards.

She ultimately crashed to the ground and Sirius did the same.

The two glanced at each other before cracking up.

It was the first time that Ginny had laughed in quite some time.

oOo

Ginny sadly poked at her mashed potatoes.

"Kreacher didn't poison them," Sirius quietly said, "I promise."

He was sitting next to her once more.

The other redheads in the room were busy talking.

They hadn't even noticed that her plate was still piled with food.

"I'm not hungry," Ginny mumbled.

"Are you sick?" Sirius asked.

She shook her head.

Sirius frowned and asked, "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Mmhm."

Sirius skeptically stared at her but didn't say anything.

Ginny took a deep breath and shakily said, "Mum…can…can I tell you something?"

Her mother either didn't hear her or wasn't listening.

"And I want to clear out that bathroom tomorrow," Mrs. Weasley was saying, "We'll all have to wear masks; it's revolting. And then we…"

"Mum?" Ginny interrupted, "Can I…can I say…?"

"…can move onto the _other _bedroom on the third floor and then…"

"Mum…"

"…we'll get started on the second floor…"

"MOLLY!"

Everyone jumped at Sirius' shout.

"What!?" Mrs. Weasley cried.

"Nothing," Sirius calmly said, "'Just wanted to get your attention."

Mrs. Weasley blinked and Sirius added, "Juniper wants to say something."

"I…" Mrs. Weasley stammered, "Alright…what is it, Ginny?"

"Nothing," Ginny softly said, "Nothing at all…"

oOo

Ginny yawned as she made her way to her bedroom.

Perhaps she would finally be able to get a good night's sleep.

"…Voldemort…"

Her ears perked up.

Instead of stopping at her landing, she raced up to Ron's bedroom.

She peered in and saw that Ron was sitting on his bed, excitedly talking to the twins.

"And then Harry had to wrestle Voldemort," Ron was saying, "They were throwing punches left and right! And then…"

"Oh, shut _up_, Ron!"

Her brothers looked up.

Fred and George looked amused.

Ron looked put off.

"A fistfight?" Ginny snapped, "Really!?"

"Aw, come on, Gin," Fred cried, "Let him have his fun."

"Yeah," George added, "It's important for children to have an active imagination."

Ron scowled and muttered, "I wasn't making it up!"

Ginny merely shook her head and went to leave.

"What would you even know?" Ron mumbled.

Ginny whipped around and shrieked, "Did you _seriously _just ask that?"

Ron balked and confusedly glanced at his brothers.

"I know more about Tom Riddle than you ever will!" Ginny feverishly said.

"What are you—?"

"Ron," Fred and George simultaneously said, "Shut up."

They were looking uncharacteristically forlorn.

Ginny walked away, leaving her brothers to whisper in her wake.

oOo

Ginny couldn't stop shaking.

She took several deep breaths and looked around.

For a moment, she couldn't understand why everything was dark.

And then she remembered where she was.

Damn this room.

She shakily stood up.

"I'll make myself a cup of tea," Ginny whispered, "That usually helps when…"

She shuddered and set off towards her destination.

Fortunately, she was able to silently get past Walburga's portrait.

She descended the kitchen stairs and pushed the door open.

"Hey, Juniper."

Ginny froze, like a deer caught in the headlights.

She hadn't expected anybody to be in the room.

And yet, Sirius was sitting at the table.

Despite his bloodshot eyes, his tone was lively as he asked, "What're you doing up?"

She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

So, she repeated his words, "What are _you _doing up?"

His smirked and said, "Touché."

"May I join you?" Ginny uncertainly asked.

Sirius kindly gestured to the chair across from him.

Ginny sat down and ran a hand over her face.

Sirius gave a start at the action; it was rather like looking into a mirror.

He tilted his head and asked, "Alright?"

Ginny sighed and mumbled, "'m tired."

Sirius smirked and said, "I've found that going to bed helps."

"You'd be surprised," Ginny sighed, "Of course, I wouldn't be so tired if Mum hadn't made us clean all bloody day!"

Sirius groaned and said, "I know. And we'll have to do it all over again tomorrow."

He took a sip of tea before asking, "Want some?"

"Please."

He poured her a mug and handed it to her.

She accepted with shaky hands.

Sirius frowned and repeated, "Alright?"

"Sure."

Sirius arched an eyebrow and sat back down.

"So," Sirius thoughtfully said, "Ginny Weasley…what's your story?"

Ginny snorted and cried, "What?"

"I don't really know much about you," Sirius admitted, "Other than the fact that you don't like food, like skating, and apparently like to wander around my house at night."

Ginny nearly spat out her tea as she cackled.

Instead of answering, she once again repeated his question, "What's _your _story?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow again before saying, "Fair enough. I grew up in this hellhole until I finally had enough courage to escape. I hated my entire family. So, I ran away and moved in with Harry's father. His grandparents were the kindest people that I had ever met. I'm still grateful that they took me in. Of course, James was my best friend. Unfortunately, he ended up putting his trust in the wrong man…"

Sirius' face darkened and he bitterly finished, "…and that man framed me. I spent twelve years in Azkaban before escaping to find that very man and prevent him from getting to Harry."

He brightened again and said, "I finally met Harry a little over a year ago. I spent all last year sulking around Hogsmeade as a dog. And now, I'm here!"

Ginny was carefully surveying him.

After several moments, she whispered, "You hate your family?"

"Way to prioritize my life events," Sirius snickered.

Ginny flushed and mumbled, "Sorry…it's just…sometimes…I…I know the feeling."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"That probably sounds stupid, doesn't it?" Ginny sighed, "I know that they're my family and I know that I should love them and…and I know that blood is thicker than water…"

"You know," Sirius interjected, "It's actually believed that that proverb is actually a shortened version of another proverb."

"Really?" Ginny whispered, "What's the actual proverb?"

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."

A smile spread across her face.

"So…" Ginny slowly said, "You…you don't think that it's wrong for me to hate them?"

Sirius hesitated before saying, "I…I think that people often overlook their family's wrongdoings. And that's very dangerous. It took me quite a long time to escape the toxicity of my own family. Every time I tried to do so, I was told that 'blood was thicker than water'. It wasn't until I was around your age that I finally found a family in the Potters."

"Harry's family?" Ginny whispered.

"His father and his grandparents," Sirius agreed, "I went to the Potter Manor after running away. They welcomed me with open arms. They were the nicest people that I had ever met. They treated me like their own son."

He was genuinely smiling.

"Anyway," Sirius continued, "What do you hate about your family?"

Ginny sighed and tried to explain, "I just…they _never _listen to me! I always feel like I'm beneath an invisibility cloak. And even when I do speak up, I'm always told to hush or the subject's quickly changed. I'm tired of feeling ignored."

"Mm?" Sirius quickly said, "Sorry, were you saying anything?"

Ginny reached over and hit his arm.

He laughed and said, "Alright, sorry. Go on."

"And when they do pay attention to me," Ginny continued, "It's usually to coddle me and keep me in the dark. Nobody treats me like an actual person. And I hate it! And I hate them!"

She clamped a hand over her mouth as she realized how loud her voice had gotten.

She took a sip of tea.

"Don't let anyone silence your voice, Juniper," Sirius quietly said, "Especially you."

"Thanks, Sirius."

"Don't mention it," Sirius remarked, "And just remember…you can always talk to me."

"Thanks," Ginny whispered, "Really…thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ginny yawned and mumbled, "I'm going to head back upstairs. Goodnight."

"Take care, Juniper."

Ginny grinned and retreated back to her bedroom.

Her eyelids were shut before her head hit the pillow.

And for the first time in years, she peacefully slept.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I have two more chapters for you all! Thank you so much for your support! I do want to point out that this story will _not _be romantic. The relationship between Sirius and Ginny is strictly platonic/father/daughter.

Chapter Three

Ginny couldn't breathe.

She was choking on the fumes from her mother's spray bottle. Her mother was quite insistent on drowning every part of the bathroom.

The twins also choked and Ron put his hand over his mouth and nose.

"Alright," Mrs. Weasley finally said, "We just need to…"

A knock on the doorway made the group look up.

Their old professor, Remus Lupin, was standing in the doorway.

He gave them all a smile before turning to Mrs. Weasley and saying, "The meeting's about to start."

She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and said, "Thank you, Remus."

He nodded and left.

"Finish cleaning up," Mrs. Weasley instructed, "I'll be back."

"Can I come?" Ginny asked.

"Don't be silly, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley replied, "We're just meeting to discuss budgets and finances."

"Budgets and finances?" Ginny repeated.

She couldn't believe that her mother was lying to her!

"Mmhm."

Ginny let out a surprised huff before crying, "Are you sure that it doesn't have anything to do with that evil guy who just came back to life!?"

The twins snickered.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened.

"I know what the Order is, Mum," Ginny continued, "And I want to join!"

"Who…who told you…?"

"Sirius," Ginny retorted.

Mrs. Weasley angrily sighed.

"I want to join," Ginny repeated.

"No," Mrs. Weasley snapped.

She walked away without another word.

Ginny growled and followed her downstairs.

"No, Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "And that's final!"

"Why not!"

"You're too young!"

"But it's a meeting about—"

"You shouldn't be worrying about such things!"

"I shouldn't be worrying?" Ginny exclaimed, "_I _shouldn't be worrying!?"

They had made it to the kitchen door.

"That's enough, Ginny," Mr. Weasley curtly said, coming up behind them, "Don't upset your mother."

"Then, why does she get to upset me?" Ginny argued.

"Ginny, please," Mr. Weasley sighed, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind!"

"Hey!"

They turned and saw that the other members had arrived.

Sirius, having spoken, was now finding it hard to maintain a straight face as he cried, "Moody's standing right here, you know!"

He snickered as the Auror amusedly swatted him in the back of the head.

"Ginny, go back upstairs," Mrs. Weasley instructed, "Now."

"But—"

"Ginny?" Moody spoke up, thoughtfully gazing at her, "Are you coming to the meeting?"

"Yes!"

"No," Mr. and Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Mm," Moody grunted, "Too bad. You'd be useful. I heard what happened to you."

Sirius looked confused and curious.

Yet, he didn't say a word.

"You don't know?" Moody asked.

"Nah," Sirius lightly said, "Nobody tells me things."

"Preaching to the choir, mate," Ginny sighed, "Preaching to the choir."

Sirius laughed.

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley quietly said, "Go back upstairs! NOW!"

Sirius gave her an apologetic look.

"Fine," Ginny snapped, "Send your kids to war unprepared!"

Moody and Sirius both looked impressed by the outburst.

Her parents did not.

At that moment, however, Ginny didn't care.

She spun around and stomped back up to her room.

She stayed there for the remainder of the day, her stomach burning with anger and twisting with anxiety. She only left her room when the clock struck midnight, as she decided that it was going to be another long night without sleep.

She went back down to the kitchen. The meeting had ended hours ago. Yet, one member still remained.

"Hey, Juniper," Sirius cheerfully said, "Back again, I see?"

"As are you," Ginny pointed out.

She jerked her head towards a seat and he nodded.

She sat down and he asked, "Alright?"

"Mm," Ginny replied, "Do you ever sleep?"

"Do you?" Sirius amusedly asked.

She waved her hand and muttered, "Sleeping's overrated."

Sirius chuckled and gestured to the teapot.

She appreciatively nodded and he poured her a mug.

Ginny glanced around the dim room and shuddered.

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"No offense," Ginny sighed, "But I really hate this house."

"So do I," Sirius bitterly agreed.

"I hate the fact that we can't go outside," Ginny sighed, "Our house isn't the nicest house in the world…in fact, I'm almost sure that it's going to topple over any day…but at least we have a large garden and a pasture and…"

She broke off as she saw the dreamy look in Sirius' eyes.

"Sorry," Sirius chuckled, "It just…sounds nice…"

"Yeah," Ginny thoughtfully said, "I suppose that it is…"

She took a sip and continued, "Whenever I couldn't get to sleep, I would just nick one of my brother's broomsticks and fly around. It was always nice…flying beneath the stars…"

Sirius' eyebrows shot up.

"What?" Ginny defensively said.

"'_Couldn't_ sleep?'" Sirius repeated.

Ginny flushed and took a long sip.

Sirius stared at her for a moment before abruptly changing the subject, "So, you like flying, eh? Are you a Quidditch fan?"

She eagerly nodded.

"Favorite team?"

"Holyhead Harpies," Ginny proudly said, "I've been a fan since I was four!"

"Mm, they're not bad," Sirius replied, "I'm more of an Appleby Arrows fan."

The two launched into a friendly debate about the strengths and witnesses of one another's teams. It lasted well into the night. In fact, they only paused when they heard the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps.

"What's going on down here?"

"Mum," Ginny gasped, "She's not going to let me hear the end of this…"

Quick as a flash, Sirius leapt up and opened the left door of the china cabinet.

"Go through," Sirius quickly whispered, "It'll take you to up to the corridor. Whatever you do, don't wake _my _mother! Otherwise, we'll both never hear the end of it!"

Ginny didn't even bother to hesitate.

She hastily thanked him and squeezed through the tiny door.

She blinked and suddenly found herself stumbling out from behind a portrait in the corridor above. She caught herself and warily eyed the curtains over Walburga's portrait.

Fortunately, they didn't stir.

She could hear her mother down below.

"Who were you talking to?" Mrs. Weasley was saying.

"Myself," Sirius calmly replied, "Why? What's so suspicious about a man who spent twelve years in prison having prolonged conversations with himself?"

Ginny giggled and quickly raced back to her bedroom.

That had been a close one.

oOo

The next night, Sirius already had a mug of tea poured for her.

Ginny appreciatively smiled and sat down.

"Are you alright?" Sirius quietly asked, "You didn't eat again, today."

Ginny flushed and quickly changed the subject, "Thanks for the help last night."

Sirius frowned but thankfully went along with it, "Not a problem. Like I said the other night, there has to be at least a dozen secret passageways around here."

"Did you and your friends make a map of this place?" Ginny curiously asked.

"Nah," Sirius replied, "They really didn't come here."

"So, you really were the Marauders?"

He nodded and said, "I was Padfoot."

"Who was Prongs?"

"James," Sirius answered, "Harry's dad."

"You were friends with Harry's dad!?"

"Brothers, more like," Sirius happily said.

"So, that's why you're his godfather."

He proudly nodded.

"Then who was Moony?"

"Remus."

Ginny's jaw dropped and she cried, "You're joking?"

"Nope," Sirius laughed, "Your old professor was a huge troublemaker at school. In fact, he was the reason why we all got our nicknames. I suppose that you heard about his condition?"

"Everyone did," Ginny bitterly said, "The Slytherins made sure of that."

Sirius solemnly nodded before saying, "We found out about it in our second year. We became Animagi."

"You're an Animagus?" Ginny excitedly asked.

He grinned and stood up.

Ginny blinked and found herself looking at a large, black, dog.

She laughed and he transformed back.

"Brilliant!"

"Thanks," Sirius proudly said.

"What was Harry's dad?" Ginny asked.

"A stag."

"Like his Patronus," Ginny whispered.

Sirius' eyes widened and he croaked, "Harry's Patronus is…?"

She nodded.

His eyes glistened for a moment.

They both jumped as they heard a sound.

"It's probably Kreacher," Sirius decided, "Still…just to be safe…"

Ginny was already on her feet.

"Listen," Sirius added, "I do enjoy our little nighttime chats."

She snickered and he continued, "But you need to get some rest. Let's not make this habitual."

"Deal."

oOo

"So much for not making this habitual."

Sirius threw back his head and laughed.

They had ended up talking to one another over the kitchen table every day for the past week. Not that Ginny minded. It was nice…being able to actually talk to someone.

Sirius couldn't tell her anything about the Order meetings – Moody had forced everyone to swear an unbreakable vow that nothing would leave the room. However, Sirius still told her amazing stories about the various adventures that had occurred when he had been at Hogwarts.

"So," Ginny curiously asked, "Who was Wormtail?"

"Huh?"

"On the map," Ginny explained, "There's Moony, _Wormtail_, Padfoot, and Prongs. You're Padfoot, Harry's father was Prongs, and Professor Lupin's Moony. So who…?"

Sirius' face fell and he muttered, "Peter Pettigrew."

Ginny gasped and cried, "The person who everyone said that you killed!?"

He nodded and quickly said, "I didn't, though."

"No, I know that," Ginny replied, "They told me that much."

He let out a hollow chuckle.

"So…what…what happened?"

Sirius's eyes sharpened and Ginny quickly said, "Sorry, I…"

"No, it's alright," Sirius assuredly said, "I told you that you could ask any question, didn't I?"

And so, he told her everything that had occurred on the night of October 31st, 1981.

By the time he was finished, he was passing her a handkerchief.

"Wow," Ginny croaked, "I…I'm so sorry."

"It is what it is," Sirius sighed.

He silently gazed at the table before saying, "That's not even the worst of it. Azkaban was…it was just…"

He broke off but Ginny understood.

"Let's just say that I've faced some demons," Sirius finally said.

"Yeah," Ginny softly said, "I…I know what that's like."

Sirius turned to her and in that moment, Ginny could see the true pain in his eyes.

And she had a feeling that he was seeing something similar in hers.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Ginny asked.

"Because," Sirius quietly said, "I have a feeling that no-one else does."

Ginny felt a lump form in her throat.

She quickly swallowed it and asked, "Are _you _alright?"

"I asked you first."

She let out a small laugh.

"Juniper…"

Ginny took a deep breath and mumbled, "No…I'm…I'm not."

It was a moment before he answered.

When he did, he said, "Yeah…neither am I."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"You must be hungry…would you like another bat?"

Ginny's eyes flew open.

That certainly wasn't something that you heard every day.

"Careful, now! You're getting feathers everywhere!"

Nor was that.

She hopped out of bed and apprehensively made her way down the corridor.

She peered into a room and her jaw dropped.

A large hippogriff was sitting against the wall.

Sirius was snuggled up next to it.

He looked up and cried, "Morning, Juniper."

"Is that…is that Hagrid's old hippogriff!?"

"Yep," Sirius happily said, "His name's Buckbeak."

"Why…why is there a hippogriff in your drawing room?"* Ginny slowly asked.

"Because he wouldn't fit in my bedroom."

Ginny's shoulders sagged and he smirked.

"It's a long story," Sirius chuckled, "Wanna say hello?"

"Err…sure?"

"Remember to bow," Sirius instructed, "Not too fast…and maintain eye-contact."

She did as she was told.

Fortunately, Buckbeak dipped his head.

Ginny sighed with relief.

"Good job!" Sirius cried, "And I got it all on tape."

"Tape?"

Ginny saw that he was holding up a strange device.

"I found this in my bedroom the other day," Sirius cheerfully said, "I must have left it behind when I ran away."

"What is it?"

"A video camera," Sirius explained, "A Super 8, to be exact."

"Video?"

Sirius smiled and gently explained, "See, Muggle photographs don't move around like ours do. So, they use this device to make it happen. It also adds sound."

Ginny's eyes widened and she whispered, "And they invented that without magic?"

He nodded.

"Wicked!"

Sirius beamed and cried, "I also found this…"

He gestured to a record player.

Ginny smiled and he gingerly put on a record.

Her smile increased as an upbeat instrumental filled the room.

"This was a really popular Muggle band," Sirius explained, "Known as…"

"The Beatles," Ginny finished.

Sirius raised his eyebrows and said, "Err…yeah! How did you…?"

"Everyone knows who the Beatles were," Ginny pointed out.

"Fair enough!" Sirius laughed.

He began to dance around as George Harrison sang:

_Here comes the sun_

_Doodoo doodoo_

_Here comes the sun_

_And I say, "It's alright."_

Ginny laughed and danced alongside him.

The two did every corny dance imaginable – from the robot to the sprinkler.

Sirius eventually headbanged and Ginny cracked up, leaning against the wall for support.

"What is going _on _in here!?"

A very tired Mrs. Weasley had appeared.

She gaped at them and cried, "You do realize that it's 5:30 in the morning!? And you haven't been giving that hippogriff bats again, have you? It'll stink up this whole house."

"Nope," Sirius lied.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed.

Sirius reached over and turned off the video camera. Ginny realized that it had been playing the entire time…recording their childish antics…recording their fun…

"Well, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley sighed, "As long as you're up, you might as well clean your room."

"Why?"

"Hermione's coming tonight."

Ginny confusedly shrugged.

"She'll be staying with you, of course," Mrs. Weasley explained.

"Wh…what!?" Ginny cried, "You didn't even ask me!?"

"You and Hermione are friends," Mrs. Weasley pointed out, "I figured that you wouldn't mind."

"Well, I _do _mind!" Ginny argued.

Her mother was already out of the room.

Ginny sighed and Buckbeak made a song.

"I know, mate," Sirius mumbled, "But she doesn't listen."

Ginny amusedly glanced at him.

"What?" Sirius innocently said, "You don't speak hippogriff?"

She burst out laughing and Sirius looked quite proud of himself.

Both of them turned as the record started skipping.

George Harrison was simply repeating the words:

_It's alright._

_It's alright._

_It's alright._

Sirius dashed over to fix it.

Ginny took a deep breath and ran her hand across her face.

It was going to be alright.

She was going to be alright.

oOo

"Ginny? Ginny, what's wrong with you!? GINNY!"

Sirius stopped in his tracks and turned towards Hermione and Ginny's room.

He knocked on the door and called, "Everything alright in there?"

The door was whisked open in a heartbeat and a frantic Hermione cried, "Something's wrong with Ginny! She's thrashing around! I think that she might be having a seizure!"

"Alright, alright, steady on!" Sirius cried, "No need to panic!"

He entered the room and saw that Ginny was indeed thrashing about. She was tossing and turning beneath her blankets, her face contorted into sheer agony.

Her mouth was open and she appeared to be silently screaming.

"Why isn't she…why isn't she making a sound?" Hermione anxiously asked.

Sirius spotted Ginny's wand on the bedside table.

And suddenly, it clicked.

His eyes widened and he whispered, "Because she doesn't want you to hear."

"Hear what?" Hermione gasped.

"It's alright," Sirius quickly said, "She's alright."

He paused as he realized that that wasn't quite true.

Yet, he didn't say that to Hermione.

He waved his wand and cried, "Enervate!"

Ginny's eyes immediately flew open.

She sat up and frantically looked around.

"It's alright," Sirius gently said, "You're okay."

"Ginny, what happened?" Hermione cried.

Ginny mouthed several words before immediately halting.

Sirius waved his wand again and cried, "Finite!"

Ginny swallowed and whispered, "I'm…sorry."

"Don't be," Sirius quickly said.

"Are you okay!?" Hermione demanded.

"I'm fine," Ginny replied.

Yet, she was drenched with sweat and her chest was rapidly rising and falling.

"You most certainly are not!" Hermione argued, "Ginny, what happened!?"

"Go back to bed, Hermione," Sirius abruptly said, "She's alright."

Hermione stared at him as if he had three heads.

"Hermione, please!" Ginny pleaded, "Please, can…can you forget that this happened?"

Hermione looked indignant but reluctantly nodded.

Sirius grimly smiled.

She wasn't about to forget.

But at least she was kind enough to drop the matter.

Sirius, however, was not.

Instead, he jerked his head and said, "Follow me, Juniper."

Ginny hesitated before obeying.

She warily followed Sirius down to the kitchen.

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" Sirius asked, "That always helps me. Either that or hot chocolate. Which do you prefer?"

Ginny gaped at him.

"It's not that hard," Sirius chuckled, "Tea or cocoa?"

"I…cocoa, I suppose," Ginny grunted.

"Good choice!" Sirius cried, "Kreacher!"

The house-elf immediately appeared and Sirius sternly said, "Prepare two cups of hot chocolate and some biscuits."

The house elf stomped over to the stove, grumbling and cursing.

Sirius sat down and folded his hands.

Ginny was trying to subtly glance in any other direction than his.

"So," Sirius finally said, "I guess that explains why you couldn't sleep."

Ginny sighed.

"Silencing Charm," Sirius continued, "That's brilliant, really."

Ginny had found a marvelous stain on the table that required her attention.

"Let me guess," Sirius thoughtfully said, "At Hogwarts, you pull the drapes around your bed, so that nobody can see?"

Ginny's eyes widened.

How did he know?

"At least, that's what I did," Sirius declared.

Her head finally shot up.

Sirius was giving her a kind smile.

"I didn't want anyone to realize that I was having nightmares," Sirius explained, "Could you imagine if word got around the castle? Madam Pomfrey would be shoving instruments into every hole in my body."

Ginny giggled.

"One day," Sirius went on, "I thrashed around a bit too much. I woke up to James and Remus freaking out. I finally had to admit it to them. And do you know what they did?"

"What?"

Sirius grinned and said, "They made me some cocoa."

Ginny's face broke out into a smile.

Kreacher brought over the mugs and Sirius lifted his.

Ginny lifted her own and they drank for a few minutes.

Sirius wiped his mouth on his sleeve before saying, "They didn't care. Well, that's not true…of course they cared. But it never changed how they saw me."

He leaned back in his chair and snorted, "Of course, Moony kind of stole the permanent spotlight when it came to revealing deep secrets that were hidden for years. Compared to that, having a few nightmares was nothing."

Ginny laughed.

"And then," Sirius gently said, "They told me that I could always talk to them."

Ginny's smile widened as she understood the underlying message.

She hesitated and asked, "Did you talk to them right then?"

"No," Sirius admitted, "And they understood. But I knew that, when I needed to, they would be there."

Ginny beamed and whispered, "Thanks, Sirius."

"You're welcome."

She hesitated and added, "I…I honestly don't feel like saying anything right now."

"That's okay," Sirius gently said, "But when you want to…I'll be here."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Ginny was unraveling.

She tried to keep herself together as she poked at her breakfast.

"Juniper," Sirius whispered, "At least touch it."

She merely sighed and pushed the food around with her fork.

"Brilliant," Sirius murmured, "Ingesting by photosynthesis, are you?"

"You said to touch it," Ginny replied, "You never said anything about eating."

Sirius' shoulders sagged.

At that moment, they both jumped as Fred and George abruptly appeared on the table.

"Eh, sorry about that," Fred meekly said.

"Overshot the landing!" George cried.

"Boys, sit down," Mrs. Weasley sighed, "You're just in time to hear the daily chores."

"Oh, goodie!" Fred exclaimed.

"I was afraid that we were going to miss it," George unblushingly added.

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes and curtly said, "I thought that we would work on the bedroom on the fourth floor."

"You thought wrong," Sirius spoke up.

All eyes turned to him.

"Not _your _room," Mrs. Weasley explained, "The one across from yours."

"You still thought wrong," Sirius simply said, "Nobody enters that room."

"Why not?" Mrs. Weasley cried.

"That's for me to know," Sirius replied, "And you to accept."

"But…"

Ginny groaned and snapped, "He said _no_, Mum!"

"I heard him, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley testily said, "But it needs to be cleaned."

"Why?" Ginny shot back, "Do you really think that cleaning this bloody house is going to bring Percy back?"

"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley cried.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Oh, give it _up_!" Ginny sighed, "Look, I felt bad for you the first twenty times that you threw yourself a pity party. But now, it's just getting old."

The rest of her family gaped at her.

Even Sirius looked surprised.

"Ginny," Hermione whispered, "Are you…erm…are you alright?"

"No, I'm not," Ginny retorted.

Hermione swallowed.

"Don't mind her," Mrs. Weasley eventually said, "She's still throwing a tantrum because I won't let her join the Order."

"That's not what this is about," Ginny groaned, "Although, I should join."

"You're not joining," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "You're too young, too inexperienced…"

"Inexperienced?" Ginny screamed, leaping to her feet, "INEXPERIENCED!?"

She knew that her face was as red as her hair.

Her hands balled into fists as she hissed, "I can't…I can't believe that you would…"

Sirius uncertainly stepped towards her.

"Ginny," Mr. Weasley sighed, "You're fourteen!"

"Even you?" Ginny cried, "Even you're too blinded to see…?"

"Come now, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley cried, "Just sit down and—"

"NO!"

And at that moment, every piece of glass in the room exploded.

Fred and George cried out and Apparated away from the falling pieces.

Her mother ducked and her father shielded his head.

Hermione screamed and Ron let out a string of cursewords.

Only Sirius raced towards Ginny, shouting her name.

His cries were drowned out by Mrs. Weasley's bellow, "GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

Ginny took off running.

"JUNIPER!" Sirius exclaimed, "GINNY, WAIT!"

Ginny ignored him. She wrenched open the front door and leapt out into the street. She ran as fast as she could, the hot air beating against her skin. She ran across the street and the Muggle automobiles screeched and blared their horns. She didn't care! She didn't _care_!

She continued to run…and run…and run…

Her legs ached and her chest heaved.

But she didn't care!

She didn't even care where she was going.

She didn't care!

She only started to care when she realized that she was jogging in a desolate alleyway.

Nothing looked familiar.

Then again, why would it?

She knew that Grimmauld Place was in the centre of London.

Other than that, she had no clue where it was.

And now, she had no clue where she was.

She slowed down and heard footsteps behind her.

She spun around and saw a large black dog running towards her.

Ginny's jaw dropped.

Sirius glanced around, ensuring that they were alone, before transforming.

"Did you…did you follow me?" Ginny whispered.

"Of course," Sirius worriedly asked, "Are you alright?"

"Forget about me!" Ginny shrieked, "You're a bloody fugitive! Change back!"

He blinked before doing so.

Ginny sighed with relief.

She then crouched down and croaked, "You…you really came after me?"

The dog nodded.

"Thank you," Ginny whispered.

The dog lifted a paw and placed it on her shoulder.

"Do you…do you know how to get back?"

The dog nodded and started to turn.

"Wait," Ginny cried.

He halted and glanced over his shoulder.

"Not yet," Ginny whispered.

She expected Sirius to argue, to keep walking, to whine, to even growl.

Instead, the dog turned on the spot and flopped onto his stomach.

Ginny smiled and sat down, her back against the cold wall.

The two of them sat, side-by-side, in the dark alleyway.

It wasn't the ideal spot.

But it was fitting.

Pedestrians rushed past on the main sidewalk.

Nobody even noticed them.

oOo

The two sat in the alleyway for several hours.

At long last, Ginny whispered, "Alright…I suppose that we should return."

The dog's ears drooped but he nodded.

Ginny scrambled to her feet and followed him.

She took the time to properly look around at the Muggle neighborhoods. She eventually took Sirius' video camera from her pocket and began filming. Everyone was happy! Mothers were tending to their gardens on the hot summer day. They waved at her and called greetings. A few Muggles were mowing their lawns. A few more were sitting on lawn chairs.

A few children dashed in front of her path, giggling as they tried to drench one another with water balloons. Ginny smiled with amusement as Sirius, still in her dog form, gave several happy barks. The children laughed and threw a balloon at him. Sirius tried to catch it with his mouth but ended up popping it, soaking both him and Ginny. The former cracked up.

After a quarter of an hour, they had reached Grimmauld Place. Ginny suddenly realized just how grimy this neighborhood looked compared to the others Litter was scattered about and many windows were either broken or boarded up. There was also a stale stench in the air.

Ginny watched as the dog stared as the spot between Number 11 and Number 13.

12 Grimmauld Place appeared and the two entered.

As soon as Sirius was across the threshold, he transformed back into his human self.

Ginny closed the door and Sirius took in a sharp breath.

Sure enough, the curtains fell and Walburga's portrait began to shriek.

Sirius and Ginny yanked the curtains back to their positions.

The door to the right opened and Mrs. Weasley entered.

Her eyes narrowed.

Ginny swallowed.

Sirius put a hand on her shoulder; just as he had when he had been a dog.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley quietly said, "Are you going to apologize?"

Ginny sighed and said, "I'm sorry for running off. I just…"

"Running off?" Mrs. Weasley interjected, "What are you talking about?"

"For…for leaving," Ginny cried.

"You left!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "Wait a minute…_**you left this house**_!?"

"I…I've been gone for hours," Ginny whispered, "You didn't notice?"

"I JUST THOUGHT THAT YOU HAD GONE UP TO YOUR ROOM!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"

The curtains had fallen once more and Walburga's screams joined in.

"You know what!?" Sirius loudly said, "I've had just about enough of mothers screaming at their children in this household!"

He grabbed the curtains and furiously heaved.

"I can't believe that you didn't notice," Ginny whispered, "Then again, you never do!"

She thought about going back outside once more.

In the end, she shoved past her mother and climbed the stairs.

She made it halfway down the corridor before she heard someone say, "Juniper—"

She turned at Sirius' voice.

He was looking more solemn than ever.

"Are you alright?" Sirius whispered.

"No," Ginny muttered, "I'm not."

"What is it?" Sirius coaxingly asked, "Tell me."

"I just…" Ginny exasperatedly said, "I…I feel so…bottled up! Like there's no one that I can turn to…no one that I can…that I can talk to…"

"You can talk to me," Sirius pointed out.

"I know," Ginny sighed, "I know that…and…thank you…but I…I feel like I've had a weight on my chest for years…and…I've had so many thoughts…so many emotions…and I have no way to get rid of them!"

Sirius surveyed her for a moment before asking, "Have you tried a diary?"

And just like that, Ginny Weasley burst into tears.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Ginny knew that she was scaring Sirius.

Yet, she couldn't stop crying.

She had been holding it in for quite a while.

And there was no turning back now.

Tears streaked down her cheeks until they were raw.

Her entire body shook with sobs.

"Juniper!?" Sirius exclaimed, "Ginny! Hey, _hey_! Ginny! What's wrong!? What is it!?"

He gently put a hand on her shoulder and cried, "Oi; talk to me!"

She wanted to.

She really did.

But she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Not when she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

Sirius twirled his wand and roared, "Accio Potions Kit!"

Ginny ducked out of the way as a small briefcase whizzed through the air.

Sirius quickly opened it and took out a small pink vial.

He thrust it into Ginny's hands and ordered her to drink it.

She did so without hesitation.

It tasted like a mixture of strawberry and peppermint.

She began to stop shaking and her tears soon dried up.

"Calming Draught," Sirius explained.

Ginny bit her lip and mumbled, "I'm…I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Sirius quickly said.

He paused before saying, "You don't have to talk about it but…"

"No, you deserve an explanation," Ginny interjected, "And like I was saying…I've…I've been holding it in for a while…"

"Clearly," Sirius wryly replied.

He jerked his head and Ginny followed her into the drawing room.

She smiled as Buckbeak fluttered his feathers.

She quickly bowed and Buckbeak nodded.

She sat against the hippogriff and Sirius plopped onto the dusty couch.

Ginny hesitated before saying, "I was so excited to start Hogwarts…all of my brothers had gone…all Gryffindor…all legendary…I couldn't wait! And what's more, I would finally be able to get out of my brothers' shadows and away from my parents' protective bubble. I was finally going to be able to be my own person! And I was so excited!"

She paused and Sirius gave her a sharp nod, prompting her to continue.

"And then," Ginny sighed, "I saw the diary. I thought that Dad must've slipped it into my trunk as an extra present. I started writing in it during my first night. And…it wrote back."

Sirius blinked and repeated, "It wrote back?"

"Every single time that I wrote," Ginny explained, "It answered all of my questions and gave me such…such lovely compliments; as if I was talking to an actual person."

She took a deep breath and shakily said, "And in the end, it was."

Sirius' mouth was hanging open.

"Well…it was a memory of a person," Ginny corrected herself, "An awful…awful person…"

"Who?"

But Sirius already knew.

Even before Ginny whispered, "Tom Riddle."

Sirius rose from the couch and walked over, kneeling next to her. He put a hand on her arm and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

"I didn't know," Ginny croaked, "I didn't know at the time."

"Of course you didn't."

Sirius' words were sincere and comforting.

"But that's not even the worst of it!" Ginny burst out, "He…he got into my head…he overpowered me…he made me do things…horrible things…I opened the Chamber of Secrets."

Sirius' eyes were now the size of Galleons.

"I didn't know that I was doing it," Ginny tearfully said, "Honestly."

Sirius nodded and whispered, "I've heard stories about the Chamber of Secrets. It was opened about thirty years before I attended Hogwarts. Isn't there a monster in there?"

"Was," Ginny replied, "It was a Basilisk. The memory of Tom Riddle used me to control it. He was able to petrify the students. Including Hermione! My own friend! Harry defeated it though. He ended up saving them. He ended up saving me."

"W…wait!" Sirius cried, "Ginny, were you…did you go into the Chamber?"

She wiped her eyes with her free arm and explained, "Tom was finally able to gain enough control over me…he…he made me enter it…I saw him come out of the diary and…and I passed out…I almost died…"

She broke off and tears streamed down her face.

Sirius pulled her into a tight hug and Ginny sobbed into his shoulder.

As horrible as recollecting it was, it felt so _good _to tell somebody!

She finally pulled back and he handed her his handkerchief.

She gratefully wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

It was a moment before he spoke:

"So, I guess that's a no on the diary, then?"

She let out a bubble of laughter.

"Listen to me, Ginny," Sirius gently said, "And listen carefully."

He waited until she was looking at him before saying, "You are an amazing woman. I don't know anyone who would be able to go through that and survive…let alone carry on. You have fought demons that nobody should have to fight; and you vanquished them."

Ginny opened her mouth to disagree and Sirius added, "And I know that some of them are still lingering…oh Ginny, trust me when I say that I know what that's like…I know it better than anyone…but you'll vanquish them as well."

Ginny sniffed and wiped her eyes.

Her voice quivered as she said, "You're…you're the first person that I've actually really talked to about this…Mum and Dad…they…they just sort of swept it beneath the rug."

"Surely, they realized how upset you were?"

"They didn't even comfort me when I first got out of the Chamber," Ginny squeaked, "I remember…crying…I was bloody hysterical…"

"Well, sure!" Sirius exclaimed, "I would be, too!"

"But they hardly even noticed!" Ginny cried, "Mum was hugging me but she never bothered to ask if I was alright or how I was feeling…and Dad…Dad yelled at me!"

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

Ginny took a shuddering breath before repeating his exact words, "'Ginny, haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps the brain!' I had just been possessed by Tom Riddle…and...and he made it seem like it was my fault! And ever since then, I've thought…what if he's right?"

"He's not," Sirius firmly said, "What happened to you was _not _your fault."

Ginny appreciatively smiled.

"Have they mentioned it since then?" Sirius quietly asked.

"Only in passing," Ginny sighed, "Mum's idea of healing is plopping an extra helping of food in front of you. And Dad just likes pretending that bad things haven't happened."

"Like Percy," Sirius muttered.

"Like Percy," Ginny agreed.

The two sat in silence for a moment.

"You were right to want to join," Sirius solemnly said, "And you were right to be angry when your parents wouldn't listen."

"Would you mind telling my parents that?"

"Oh, don't worry," Sirius darkly said, "I will."

Ginny looked up and stammered, "S…Sirius, I was just joking."

"I just want to exchange a few words," Sirius replied, "That's all."

Ginny uncertainly nodded.

"Do you mind if we talk about something else?" Ginny whispered, "Anything?"

And so, Sirius launched into a riveting tale about how he became an Animagus.

By the time he was finished, Ginny's adrenaline had crashed.

It was just as well; it was past midnight.

She informed Sirius that she was going to bed and he jokingly replied that he would see her in a few hours for tea. He then waited until she had entered her bedroom before walking down to the bedroom that had once belonged to his parents.

He kicked the door open.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sound asleep.

They now jerked awake and frantically looked around.

"Sirius?" Mrs. Weasley cried, "What the blazes are you doing here at this hour?"

"Is something wrong?" Mr. Weasley added.

"Yeah," Sirius hollowly said.

"Well, what is it?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

"We need to talk," Sirius retorted, "Now."

He pushed past them.

"Hang on!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "You can't just come in—"

"Actually, I can!" Sirius shot back, "You see, this so happens to be my house! Sit."

"Excuse me?"

"Sit," Sirius repeated, "Stand if you must. I don't really care at this point."

He sat himself and quietly said, "How the hell could you do that to her?"

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Weasley spluttered, "_Who _are you talking about?"

"Ginny," Sirius cried, "How could you just _forget _that she was possessed by Voldemort?"

They both paled.

"We didn't forget," Mrs. Weasley defensively said, "We just don't like bringing it up."

"Well, guess what!?" Sirius snapped, "There's a fourteen-year-old girl upstairs who's traumatized and depressed and it would have been damn helpful if you had brought it up, whether you had liked it or not."

"Ginny's not traumatized!" Mrs. Weasley nervously laughed, "She was perfectly fine after we got her away from that diary. She's just a bit…"

"High-spirited," Mr. Weasley finished, "She's a teenager!"

"Yeah," Sirius growled, "She is. And she's also a survivor."

He started to walk away before adding, "And she should be in the Order."

His face fell as he solemnly said, "She's been fighting a war for years."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I am _so _sorry for the delay! Here's four chapters to make up for it!

Chapter Seven

_"__Hello, Ginny."_

_He was coming out of the diary, reaching towards her, smirking._

Ginny's eyes flew open.

She wildly sat up and realized that she wasn't in the chamber; she was in her bedroom.

Or rather, she was in the bedroom at Grimmauld Place.

Ginny sighed with relief as she glanced at the bed across the room.

Hermione was still sleeping.

Ginny leapt to her feet and crept into the corridor.

She didn't go downstairs, however.

She wasn't sure if she could face Sirius after breaking down this afternoon.

And so, she made her way to the drawing room.

She opened the door and bowed.

Buckbeak dipped his head and Ginny raced over, burying herself in the warm feathers.

She turned and sat with her back against his side.

She sat in silence for several hours until the door opened.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked.

She shook her head, quite aware of the fact that her face was flaming.

"Juniper, listen," Sirius gently said, "There's no need to be embarrassed about earlier."

"Yeah," Ginny sarcastically said, "I was just crying like a bloody tot. What's embarrassing about that?"

Sirius sighed and entered.

He was carrying two mugs of tea.

He nodded towards the floor and asked, "May I join you?"

She nodded and he sat down.

"Listen to me," Sirius quietly said, "When I was in Azkaban…that…that was the worst time of my life…those Dementors were…they were just horrible…"

He put a hand on her shoulder and gravely explained, "I had just lost three of my best friends and I couldn't show any emotion. They feed on it. They take away every happy feeling that you have. And then they feed on the rest. It's one of the worst feelings in the world."

"Yeah," Ginny spoke up, "I…I know how bad the Dementors are. They were swarming the castle in my second year. All because some bloke decided to escape from Azkaban and go after his godson."

She grinned at him and he returned it.

"The point is," Sirius continued, "I know what it feels like to be emotionless. And it's a horrible feeling. Letting emotion out isn't a bad thing. Especially when you've had to hold it in for so long."

Ginny nodded, still not convinced.

Sirius abruptly set the mugs on the floor and leapt to his feet with a simple command:

"Follow me."

Ginny looked up and asked, "Why?"

"I want to help you," Sirius replied, "And I know the perfect way to do so."

Ginny scrambled to her feet and glumly followed him.

They went down to the second floor.

Sirius began to touch the wall in various spots as he cheerfully said, "Now, Mother Dearest and Father Dearest were many things…most of them horrible…but above all…"

He finally found the spot and pushed.

Ginny gasped.

An intricate door had appeared. Sirius pushed it open to reveal a hidden chamber. It was quite large and was filled to the top with sparkling collectables.

Marble statues, golden china, silver tea kettles, glass figurines…

"They were rich," Sirius finished.

"No kidding," Ginny breathed.

"This was our antique vault," Sirius explained, "We had a few vaults at Gringotts, of course, but my parents never quite trusted goblins. Besides, they fancied looking at their wealth."

He stepped inside and Ginny amazedly followed.

"They valued the items in this room more than anything," Sirius continued, "More than their love, more than their lives, more than their sons' lives…"

He looked solemn for a moment before brightly saying, "I've been wanting to do this for weeks but you need it more than I do."

"Need what?" Ginny curiously asked.

Sirius smirked and twirled his wand.

Something appeared in his hand.

He handed it over to Ginny who whispered, "A…a Beater's bat?"

Sirius smiled and said, "Have at it. Just…err…don't hit me."

Ginny glanced from the bat to the man and cried, "You're joking?"

Sirius' grin widened and he cried, "Well, go on!"

Ginny hesitated and nudged a nearby vase.

"You can do better than that," Sirius snorted, "Let it out!"

And so, Ginny slammed the bat into the nearest marble statue.

It immediately crumbled.

She felt a rush of adrenaline and continued.

Within minutes, she was elegantly twirling around, smashing things right and left. Tears flowed down her cheeks and yet, she was donning a huge smile. A genuine smile.

Sirius looked on with a smirk plastered on his own face. He laughed as bits of chandelier rained down around him.

"GINNY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

Arthur and Molly raced over but Sirius held up his hand.

They stopped in their tracks, their jaws dropped, as they watched their daughter unleash her fury, her resentment, and her grief on the valuable Black heirlooms.

The noise also brought Ron, Hermione, and the twins racing over.

Ron's jaw dropped.

Hermione clamped a hand over her mouth.

Fred and George both laughed.

At long last, Ginny tired herself out.

She threw the bat onto the rubble and her legs gave way.

Sirius was right there to catch her.

They clung onto each other's arms and straightened up.

"Better?" Sirius knowingly asked.

Ginny nodded and whispered, "Thanks, Sirius."

"Any time, Juniper."

She hesitated before asking, "Can we have that tea now?"

"Sounds good."

The two walked side-by-side, leaving the disaster in their wake.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Ginny cheerfully took a bite of scrambled eggs.

Ginny was well aware of the fact that her family kept stealing glances at her.

They had been doing so all morning.

Fred and George had been good about it.

In fact, their glances were usually ones of admiration.

Her parents looked angry and slightly afraid.

Ron looked like he had something stuck in his throat.

Hermione seemed to want to say something but was holding back.

She heard Sirius clear his throat.

She turned and cracked up.

His face was an inch from hers, his eyes bulbous and unblinking.

"What are you doing!?" Ginny cackled.

"Haven't you heard?" Sirius replied, "Staring at you seems to be the new pastime."

The others frowned and Ginny continued to laugh.

Sirius winked and straightened back up.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley testily spoke up, "Perhaps we're all just waiting to see if Ginny's going to go berserk and start destroying the kitchen?"

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Making a mess is one thing," Hermione abruptly said, "But, Sirius, did you _have _to order Kreacher to clean it up? That was just cruel!"

"Hermione," Sirius slowly said, "It's his job."

"It's a cruel job."

"It's a cruel world," Sirius replied with a shrug.

"Indeed, it is."

They looked up at the unexpected voice.

Alastor Moody had entered the kitchen.

The Auror stretched and said, "'Meeting's starting in fifteen minutes."

"Children," Mrs. Weasley cried, "Upstairs."

They all groaned and grumbled.

Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione filed up the stairs.

Ginny paused at the door and turned.

"I know what you're going to say," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "And the answer is still 'no'."

Ginny angrily groaned.

"Ginny," Mr. Weasley spoke up, "Your mother and I know that you've been…that you've been rather concerned lately…about the things discussed in the meetings…but I want you to know…that there is nothing to be afraid of."

He glanced at his wife between each pause.

"Oh, that's a relief," Ginny sarcastically said, "For a moment, I thought that a really dark wizard was gathering an army to create a reign of terror."

Her father flushed and stammered.

"You can't hide the war from your kids," Moody spoke up.

"But I can hide my kids from the war," Mrs. Weasley retorted, "They're too…they're too young! They're too innocent!"

"DO YOU THINK TOM RIDDLE CARES!?"

Once again, all eyes turned to Ginny.

"Do you think he cares that we're innocent?" Ginny feverishly said, "Do you think that being innocent will make the Death Eaters will spare us? They don't care! Innocent people die in war all the time!"

Her eyes flickered over to Sirius and Moody's did the same.

Sirius' face had fallen and his eyes had dulled.

"That's why we need to be prepared," Ginny continued, "So that…Merlin forbid…if we're ever forced to fight…we'll be ready."

"Ooh," Moody muttered, "I like this one."

Sirius' solemn expression was replaced by a proud smile.

"Whose side are you on?" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Moody surveyed her for a moment.

He then flicked his wand.

One of the glass panes leapt from the china cabinet and floated over.

It hovered between the members of the group.

"What are you doing?" Mrs. Weasley uncertainly said.

"Proving a point," Moody growled, "It's a shame that Muggle Sciences aren't well-known in the wizarding world. Especially Physics. Watch carefully."

Moody flicked his wand again.

A powerful spell hit the glass, causing an ugly crack to jut down the middle.

And yet, that wasn't the only crack. Other small cracks splintered from the main one, creating a pattern much like a spiderweb.

"See," Moody quietly said, "There are two sides. One on each side of the crack. But those sides aren't pure. See, the force of the first crack caused both sides to be fragmented. Dozens of little pieces are desperately clinging together. But when given the proper nudge…"

Ginny had stepped forward to carefully survey the glass.

She slowly brought her hand up and touched it with the tips of her fingers.

It was enough to cause the pieces to all fall.

Sirius grabbed her and pulled her out of harm's way.

The pieces hit the floor and shattered into even more pieces.

Moody triumphantly smiled and said, "…they fall."

Sirius waved his own wand and the pieces repaired themselves.

The piece of glass flew back to the cabinet.

"But I digress," Moody boomed, "Arthur, Molly, I have a job for you."

"What is it?" Mr. Weasley immediately asked.

"I need you to go to the Apothecary in Diagon Alley," Moody explained, "Here's a list of ingredients that I need. And here's some money to buy them. Bring back a receipt."

They nodded and quickly raced away.

Sirius closed the door after them.

"Right then," Moody cried, "Ginny, you can't come to the meetings."

Ginny's face fell.

"But," Moody continued, "That doesn't mean that we're leaving you in the dark."

Sirius nodded his head towards a chair and Ginny sat down.

The men did the same and Moody quietly said, "First thing's first…tell me everything about your encounter."

Ginny glanced at Sirius who solemnly nodded.

And so she repeated her story. She ended up tearing up at several parts but Moody and Sirius were kind enough to not say anything

When she was finished, Moody swore.

Ginny jumped and Moody growled, "How old are you?"

"F…fourteen."

"Damn," Moody sighed, "We can't recruit until seventeen."

"We?" Ginny repeated.

"The Auror Department."

Ginny's jaw dropped and she cried, "You think…you think that I'd be a good Auror?"

"Definitely," Moody immediately said, "You've already fought him once, haven't you?"

"She'd be a good Order member, too," Sirius pointedly said.

"Yeah, she would," Moody agreed, "But her parents are as stubborn as the backside of a hippogriff. We can't tell her anything…"

Ginny sighed.

Sirius surveyed her for a moment before saying, "So…we can't tell her that Voldemort's currently hiding in the Netherlands?"

Ginny's head shot up.

"Yeah," Moody agreed, "And we can't tell her that multiple accounts have declared that even though he's returned, he's still deformed and weaker than he has ever been."

"And we can't tell her that there's essentially no part of Tom Riddle left?"

"None at all," Moody replied, "It's as if we're fighting a completely different person. Tom Riddle is gone. 'Too bad we can't tell her."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, "Too bad."

"Do you…do you mean it?" Ginny whispered.

"Mean what?" Moody and Sirius asked.

"Tom Riddle's really…gone?"

"I have no idea where you heard such highly classified information," Moody snapped.

A smile spread across Ginny's face and Sirius winked.

The three all looked towards the stairs as they heard Walburga shriek.

"People must be coming in for the meeting," Moody growled, "You'd better go."

Ginny nodded and quickly raced upstairs, passing a few of her professors along the way.

She raced all the way up to her bedroom.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked.

"Talking to Moody and Sirius," Ginny truthfully said.

Hermione carefully surveyed her and asked, "Are you alright?"

Ginny didn't answer.

Yet, she did smile.

For the first time in years, a knot in her stomach was beginning to unwind.

There was still a monster out there.

But it wasn't her monster.

Not anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

_Here comes the sun_

_And I say…it's alright…_

_It's alright…_

Sirius finished strumming the guitar as Ginny finished singing.

"Not bad!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Thanks," Ginny proudly said.

Sirius set his guitar to the side and pocketed the video camera.

Ginny thoughtfully stroked Buckbeak's feathers.

"I told you singing would help," Sirius happily said, "James and I sung all the time. We once made a bet to see who could sing the longest. It ended when Professor McGonagall placed a silencing charm on us. 'Wouldn't remove it for a week."

Ginny chuckled and continued to pet Buckbeak.

"Alright?" Sirius asked.

She hesitated.

Should she ask…?

"Sirius," Ginny spoke up, "You know how you said that you'd answer any question?"

"Mmhm."

Ginny hesitated before asking, "Who was Regulus?"

She had seen the name on the tapestry.

Sirius' head shot up.

He stared at her for a moment before quietly saying, "Any question but that."

"Right," Ginny quickly said, "I…I'm sorry…I…really…I'm sorry."

She ducked her head and shamefacedly walked away.

"He was my brother."

She paused and glanced over her shoulder.

Sirius was looking solemn.

Ginny hesitated before whispering, "W…was?"

"He's…gone."

"I'm sorry," Ginny immediately said.

He nodded and muttered, "Reg was a year younger than I was. But emotionally…he was…he was pretty immature. I sort of grew up for the both of us, you know?"

He sat on the floor and Ginny joined him.

"Our family," Sirius explained, "Our family was terrible."

"I sort of got that from the portrait downstairs," Ginny admitted.

Sirius let out a hollow laugh and said, "Yeah…Mummy Dearest never really had an inside voice. Daddy Dearest was just as bad. He didn't yell, mind you. He got all quiet and spoke in a growl. They were…they were terrible…terrible…people who did…terrible things."

He shuddered and continued, "And they believed in terrible things. Voldemort was just beginning to rise when we were children. The way they talked about him…they were never Death Eaters…they were too cowardly…but they spoke highly of him. I always hated it. I never agreed with their values, even as a child. I suppose that I was the black sheep of the family."

Ginny laughed and he went on, "I wish that I could say the same for Reg. He wanted nothing more to make our parents proud. It's funny…I was obviously a bit of a troublemaker when I was younger and so was he…but I always took the blame…willingly…I didn't want him to get punished…even when he was the only one doing something wrong…I took the blame. And I think that our parents thought that he was the golden child or something. They started driving us apart; saying that I was a bad influence. But despite their best efforts, Reg and I were still close. That is…until I went to Hogwarts."

He sighed and it was a moment before he said, "I got sorted into Gryffindor; the first person to do so from our family. My parents sent me Howler after Howler. But I didn't care. For the first time in my life, I was free from my family. And I had friends!"

"The Marauders," Ginny knowingly said.

Sirius nodded and continued, "They became my brothers. The irony is that my relationship with my own brother was straining. Mummy and Daddy Dearest had gotten to him when I was away. By the time he entered his first year, he was a proud little Slytherin. We still cared for each other but we weren't as close."

He sighed again and muttered, "And the rest is history. I had enough courage to run away from home when I was sixteen. Regulus joined the Death Eaters when _he_ was sixteen. I occasionally saw him on the battlefield. I still tried to protect him. 'Drove Moody and the others mad because I would never hex him. But to be fair, he never hexed me. And then…"

His face fell and he croaked, "Moody and James came to my house. They told me that…that he…he…he was only eighteen…"

"I'm so sorry, Sirius," Ginny whispered.

"I loved him," Sirius abruptly said, "Despite everything…despite his thick head…I still loved him. I _still _love him."

Ginny didn't know what to say.

"It's funny," Sirius mumbled, "I spent a good chunk of my life trying to protect him. But in the end…"

He sadly shook his head and whispered, "I suppose that I have a track history of that, eh?"

"Of…of what?"

"Failing to protect my brothers…"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Ginny was relieved to see that Sirius had cheered up by the next morning.

In fact, as she entered the kitchen, she realized that he was whistling a happy tune.

"I'm leaving!" Sirius brightly said.

"Good morning to you, too," Ginny jokingly replied, "What do you mean you're leaving?"

"Dumbledore wants me to come to his office," Sirius said, "He wants me to share my memory of seeing Harry last month. But more importantly…I get to leave the house!"

His happiness was contagious.

Ginny sat down and helped herself to a piece of toast.

The door opened and Dumbledore entered.

The elderly wizard surveyed the room before softly saying, "Are you ready, Sirius?"

"Am I ever!"

"Then let's be on our way."

"Juniper," Sirius jokingly added, "You're the head of the house, when I'm gone."

Ginny snorted and said, "Be careful."

"I will be."

He and Dumbledore turned on the spot and disappeared.

Ginny was just finishing up her breakfast when her mother and brothers came downstairs.

"Where's Sirius?" Ron asked, "Doesn't he live down here?"

He snickered at his own joke.

"With Dumbledore," Ginny declared.

"Why?"

"He wants to collect Sirius' memories," Ginny explained, "He must have a Pensieve."

"He does," Fred agreed.

"We saw it a few years ago," George added.

"It's in the corner of his office," Fred concluded.

"So," Mrs. Weasley slowly said, "Sirius will be gone for a while?"

Ginny nodded and took her last bite of toast.

"Perfect," Mrs. Weasley cried, "I can finally get started on that room."

Ginny's head shot up and she curiously asked, "What room?"

"The one across from his bedroom," Mrs. Weasley explained, "Every time that I've tried to touch it, he's made a huge fuss. But it needs to be cleaned!"

Ginny blinked.

She was too tired to put two-and-two together.

In fact, it wasn't until her mother and brothers had gathered their cleaning supplies and were beginning to make their way upstairs that Ginny finally understood. She leapt up and raced up to the main corridor. She pulled back a tapestry and raced through the door. She stumbled out onto the fourth floor landing, just as her mother and brothers were ascending the stairs.

"G…Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley stammered, "What…how did you…?"

"You can't enter this room!" Ginny breathlessly said.

Her mother merely gaped at her.

At long last, she cried, "Don't be ridiculous, Ginny!"

Ginny stepped in front of the closed door and quietly said, "You can't go in."

"Why not?" Fred curiously asked.

"What's in there?" George wondered.

"What are you hiding?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

"I'm not hiding anything," Ginny sighed, "You just…you can't enter."

"Oh, budge up, Ginny!" Ron groaned, "'Sooner we clean it, 'sooner we'll be done!"

"No!"

She realized that her eldest brothers were both gazing at the sign.

"'Do not enter without the express permission of Regulus Arcturus Black,'" George read.

They glanced at each other.

"Did Regulus give you permission?" Ginny haughtily asked.

Fred snorted and pointed out, "We don't even know who Regulus is."

"Then, I guess that's a 'no'."

The twins shrugged and headed back downstairs.

"Boys, get back here!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"Regulus didn't give us permission," Fred pointed out.

There was a faint smirk on his face.

His brother was mirroring it.

"I don't care," Mrs. Weasley grumbled, "It's filthy…it needs to be cleaned…"

"You're _not _entering!" Ginny firmly said.

Her mother glared at her but Ginny stood her ground.

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley exasperatedly said, "I've had just about enough of you…"

She turned to the twins and added, "We'll Apparate inside. Ron can get started on the bathroom on the second floor."

The twins snickered and Ron scowled.

Ginny paled.

They couldn't enter!

Sirius would be crushed.

Her eyes widened as she thought of something.

It was bloody mental…

But it could work…

And so, Ginny took a deep breath and shouted, "KREACHER!"

The house-elf appeared, looking just as surprised as everyone else.

"How did the filthy blood-traitor's daughter—?" Kreacher wheezed.

"Sirius made me the Head of the House before he left," Ginny quickly said, "That means that you have to obey me. Right?"

The house-elf immediately started hissing and cursing.

Ginny took that as an affirmative.

"Listen," Ginny cried, "I'm ordering you to stop anybody from entering this room. Can you do that?"

Kreacher's eyes widened and he hissed, "Is somebody trying to enter my Master Regulus' room?"

Ginny jerked her head towards her startled family.

The house-elf swelled with rage and shouted a long string of profanities.

In the end, he snapped his fingers.

Ginny watched as a silver light seeped through the cracks of the door.

"Did that do it?" Ginny asked.

"Aye," Kreacher muttered, "The blood traitors won't ever get into that room."

Ginny sighed with relief.

Fred and George looked thoroughly amused.

Ron looked nonchalant.

Her mother looked furious.

Mrs. Weasley drew herself up and twisted.

Ginny took a sharp breath but her mother remained standing in the same spot.

Ginny's mouth curved into a smirk.

She stepped to the side and sat against the wall. She spent the rest of the day watching as her mother tried and failed to enter the room. Mrs. Weasley tried Apparating multiple times. She tried hexing the door and hexing the wall. She even went to the room below and tried hexing the ceiling. She made a Portkey but it merely sat there. She ordered Ginny to open it up until her face was as red as her hair. Ginny merely smirked.

Ginny eventually asked Kreacher to bring her a plate of sandwiches and some pumpkin juice. The house elf obeyed and she happily ate.

Hermione came up and lectured her for having Kreacher do such a task. She then pleaded with Ginny to open up the room, as she was getting a headache from Mrs. Weasley's screams.

Yet when Ginny replied that Kreacher was just as determined to keep the room closed as she was, Hermione reconsidered.

Mrs. Weasley then sent her next troop.

Ron came up and nicked one of the sandwiches before continuing to ask her what was so special about the room. She ignored him until he shrugged and went back downstairs.

Fred and George came up at one point. Instead of asking her to open the room, however, they were more interested in asking Kreacher how he had managed to shut it. Their eyes sparkled as Kreacher explained that elves have magic that wizards and witches do not.

Ginny only left her post to use the bathroom.

She even stayed when the rest of her family had gone to bed.

She drew her knees to her chest and her ear found her shoulder.

She was just beginning to doze off when she heard someone say, "Juniper?"

Ginny immediately sprung to her feat.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius curiously asked, ascending the stairs.

Ginny explained everything.

"You…went through all of that trouble for me?" Sirius eventually whispered.

"You've gone through more than enough trouble for me," Ginny pointed out.

Sirius beamed and Ginny added, "You can be the Head of the House again, though."

"Much obliged," Sirius replied, "Blimey, I…I can't believe that you did that."

He hesitated before saying, "It's silly…really…the reason why I won't let anyone in…"

He glanced at Kreacher and jerked his head.

The house elf opened the door.

Ginny braced herself and saw…

A bedroom.

She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, other than a bit of dust on the items.

"I just don't want anyone to remove his things," Sirius mumbled, "I know that they're just material items but…if they're gone…it'll just be a reminder that…you know…"

Ginny nodded.

"I suppose it sounds a bit mental, eh?"

Ginny shrugged and said, "The world's mental."


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the hiatus! Life got extremely busy!

Before the chapter, I want to answer a comment by Weasley89:

_I have to admit, I'm really torn between picking Molly's side and picking Ginny's side._

Good! That's the best mentality to have!

I've seen a few other commenters chastise Ginny. I've seen some commenters really chastise Molly. And while I do have to snicker at those ones, I love comments like this – that really understand that neither one is completely right and neither one is completely wrong. In the end, the two of them are going to have a better understanding of each other. But it has to get worse before it gets better.

Chapter Eleven

"Ginny, wake up!"

Ginny flushed as she jerked awake.

Once again, she had fallen asleep in the midst of cleaning.

Her mother was giving her a reproachful look.

"If you're not going to help clean," Mrs. Weasley bit, "Why don't you at least get started on your homework?"

Ginny scowled.

Why did her professors have to give her homework over the summer anyway?

Fortunately, she had a very good excuse as to why she couldn't do it.

"I can't," Ginny replied, "My books are at the Burrow."

"What?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "I told you to pack everything!"

"I'm sorry!" Ginny exclaimed, "I was in such a rush…"

She scrambled to her feet and continued, "Anyway, we're going to go back, aren't we?"

"Perhaps," Mrs. Weasley retorted, "Perhaps not. We may very well be here for the remainder of the summer!"

On the other side of the room, the twins let out a groan.

Sirius entered the room and glumly said, "Believe me, I'm not looking forward to staying here anymore than you are. I've had just about enough of this place."

"At least you can leave," Fred argued.

"Yeah," George groaned, "We're trapped here."

A dark shadow crossed over Sirius' face and he muttered, "Blimey, I wish that I could leave. But Dumbledore's forcing me to stay here."

The twins looked aghast.

Ginny had already known; Sirius had told her over their midnight tea.

"He can't do that!" Fred immediately cried.

"You're…what?" George added, "Thirty-five!?"

"Dumbledore reckons that it's for his own protection," Ron spoke up.

His arms were elbow-deep in a bucket of soapy water.

Sirius muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Yeah, physical protection."

Ginny's heart went out to him.

She knew that he had managed to get out when he was sixteen.

And now, he was trapped here once more.

"Anyway, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley was saying, "I suppose that I'm going to have to take you over there so that you can get your books."

"Why not have Sirius take me?"

The words were out of Ginny's mouth before she knew what she was saying.

Her mother's lips made a thin line.

Sirius looked significantly perked up at the mere thought.

"You heard Professor Dumbledore," Mrs. Weasley retorted, "Sirius can't leave."

"He left last week," Ginny pointed out, "When he was the only one to come after me."

She said this part loudly and added, "Honestly, we'll pop over to the Burrow for a few minutes and pop right back. This way you can get the cleaning done."

Mrs. Weasley hesitated.

At long last, she cried, "Ah…it won't work! The Ministry monitors the Floo. I'm sure that Fred or George wouldn't mind Apparating you there."

"Actually, Mum," Fred spoke up, "We've been feeling a bit ill."

"Yeah," George agreed, "We don't want to end up Apparating her to the wrong spot."

Mrs. Weasley shuddered at the thought.

Ginny could have hugged them.

"I'm skilled at Apparation," Sirius coaxingly said, "I was the first in my class to get it right. 'Nearly took out James' legs as I landed right on top of him."

"Oh, very well!" Mrs. Weasley snapped, "You have five minutes to Apparate there and back. Five minutes! Is that clear?"

"Five minutes," Sirius agreed.

Mrs. Weasley still looked doubtful.

But before she could change her mind, Sirius held out his arm.

Ginny eagerly raced forward and grabbed it.

The next few minutes of her life were indescribable. She felt as though she was being ripped apart, turned inside out, turned rightside out once more, and placed back together.

She finally landed on a hardwood floor.

Sirius helped her to her feet and asked, "Was that your first time Side-Apparating?"

She dazedly nodded.

Sirius laughed and cried, "Well, you did brilliantly."

Ginny clutched pounding head and glanced around.

The two were standing in the cramped kitchen of the Burrow. She smirked as she realized that there was a thin layer of dust over everything. Her mother would be horrified.

Ginny abruptly frowned as she spotted a piece of parchment on the counter.

She picked it up and immediately flushed with anger.

"Juniper?" Sirius spoke up, "What's wrong?"

"Look at this," Ginny hissed.

"Parchment!" Sirius exclaimed, "My age-old enemy!"

Ginny was too furious to even crack a smile.

Sirius sobered and asked, "What does it say?"

"'We're staying at 12 Grimmauld Place – Love, Mum!'"

"You're joking!" Sirius gasped.

He crossed the room and read over her shoulder.

There was no denying the words.

When Sirius spoke, it was obvious that he was forcing himself to be calm, "Your mother left the address of the headquarters sitting on the kitchen counter?"

His voice rose as he cried, "Why would she do that!?"

"Percy," Ginny immediately said, "I bet you anything that she left it there in case he came back."

"But Percy's working for the Ministry!" Sirius shrieked, "You said so yourself!"

Ginny began to feverishly pace the kitchen.

"How could she do this?" Ginny muttered, "How could she be so stupid?"

She finally broke off and whispered, "At least we saw it before someone else."

Sirius nodded, lost in his thoughts.

Ginny raced upstairs to get her books.

When she came back down, she saw that Sirius was warily peering through the window.

He abruptly gave a start and cried, "What is that?"

"What?"

"That!" Sirius yelped, "What is…?"

He wrenched the door open and raced out into the garden.

"Sirius," Ginny exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

She threw the books onto the counter and anxiously ran after him. Sirius' face was a mixture of emotions as he stared at an old motorbike that was propped up against the shed.

"Oh, that," Ginny dismissively said, "That's Dad's."

"The hell it is!"

"Well, alright," Ginny huffed, "It's not _his_ per say but Hagrid passed it along to him a few years ago. He's been trying to fix it ever since. It won't even start."

Sirius smirked and slyly said, "That's because it only starts for its owner."

He cleared his throat and roared, "ALLUMER!"

The motorbike abruptly roared to life.

Ginny's jaw dropped and she excitedly laughed.

Sirius smirked as she stammered, "It's…it's…yours!?"

"I haven't ridden this thing in fourteen years," Sirius fondly said, "Blimey, the memories! If motorbikes could talk…"

He abruptly swung his leg over the seat and cried, "Well?"

"You're joking!"

"You don't have to, of course," Sirius quickly said, "I just thought…"

Ginny was already grabbing a helmet.

Sirius put on one of his own and she climbed up behind him.

Sirius pulled the video camera from his pocket and tapped it with his wand. It immediately floated into the air, aiming to follow them.

She squeezed the sides of the seat as he shouted, "AVANT!"

The motorbike shot forward.

Ginny screamed with excitement as it zoomed out of the garden and down the dusty country road. She noticed that none of the dust seemed to be hitting them. In fact, it was almost as if there was an invisible shield around the motorbike. She let out a loud whoop as the video camera flew around them.

The motorbike drove down the abandoned country roads, weaving and bobbing around the corners. Even though Sirius hadn't driven it in nearly a decade and a half, he was still an expert. The bike obeyed his every command. Ginny gasped as she took in the sights. It was a beautiful summer's day. She could see the fields spread out like a patchwork quilt. She could see the mountains reach towards the clouds. She could see the trees basking in the sun. She could see the wildlife scampering about and enjoying the warm day.

"Do you trust me?" Sirius abruptly yelled.

"I wouldn't be on this if I didn't!" Ginny shrieked.

Sirius smiled and drove them right off of a cliff.

Before Ginny could even comprehend what had happened, Sirius screamed, "VOLER!"

Ginny gasped as the motorbike abruptly lifted into the air.

They were flying!

Her head twisted and turned as she tried to take in everything. They were literally riding on top of the clouds. The sun was just beginning to set and the world below was painted in oranges and pinks. She eventually let go of the seat and spread her arms out, much like a bird, whooping and screaming.

This went on for several minutes before Sirius cried, "Alright, hang on! Tightly!"

She complied and he caused the motorbike to do a backwards loop through the air.

Ginny gasped and tightly held on. Her stomach seemed to replace her heart. The clouds were above her! Stars were beginning to come out. It was breathtaking!

Sirius eventually turned the motorbike rightside up again.

"As much as I hate to say this," Sirius cried, "We should probably be heading back."

Ginny groaned but reluctantly agreed.

Sirius steered the motorbike back towards the Burrow.

Ginny amazedly glanced down at all of the sights before frowning.

It was getting dark but she could swear that three figures were walking up the dirt pathway to her house.

"Sirius, look!"

Sirius also frowned. Not wanting to risk it, he dropped the motorbike down into a thicket of trees that was about the length of a Quidditch pitch away from the garden.

The two crouched behind a tree, occasionally peeking out.

"Are those…are those Ministry officials!?" Sirius gasped.

'How can you tell?" Ginny asked.

"James' father was an Auror," Sirius explained, "He wore a uniform just like that."

"What do we do!?"

Sirius squinted and gasped, "Hang on…"

"What!?"

His eyes widened and he whispered, "No…no…"

"Sirius," Ginny demanded, "What's wrong?"

Sirius turned towards her but didn't know what to say.

"What's wrong?" Ginny repeated.

"Well," Sirius matter-of-factly said, "It's just…"

"Just what!?"

"The Minister for Magic is at your house."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Ginny felt the blood drain from her face.

How in the name of Merlin was the Minister at her house!?

"Sirius," Ginny gasped, "We need to go…now!"

"We can't!"

"Why not!?"

"They'd hear the sound of us Apparating," Sirius worriedly explained, "They'd know that someone was here."

Ginny bit her lip and cried, "Well…what if we take the motorbike?"

"We can't risk that, either," Sirius swallowed, "If they saw us…"

"Alright," Ginny frantically murmured, "Alright, alright, alright…Apparate without me."

"What!?"

"Apparate back to Grimmauld Place," Ginny whispered, "If they come snooping, I'll tell them that I let off a firecracker or something."

"I'm not leaving you here," Sirius hissed, looking mortified by the thought.

"It'll be okay," Ginny retorted, "I can take care of myself."

"I'm not leaving you," Sirius firmly said, "Besides, your mother would kill me if I did."

"They're going to kill you if you don't," Ginny argued, "Sirius, please!"

But Sirius was just as stubborn as she was.

Ginny sighed and turned her attention back to the officials. They had climbed up onto the porch and were peering through the window.

"What are they even doing here?" Ginny whispered.

"I have a hunch," Sirius muttered, "But you're not going to like it."

"Go on."

"They're looking for your family," Sirius explained, "The last few weeks have left Fudge paranoid. He's worried that Dumbledore is forming some sort of resistance and that your family is a part of it."

"Err…" Ginny slowly said, "That's not paranoia, Sirius. That's actually happening."

"True," Sirius whispered, "But he can't know that!"

Ginny hesitated.

She suddenly had a plan.

She turned towards Sirius and muttered, "Stay here and wait for my signal."

"What!?"

Ginny took a deep breath and raced out of the thicket.

"Juniper!" Sirius hissed, "Get back here!"

Ginny didn't listen.

She raced up on the porch and made her presence known.

The men turned.

"Oh, hullo," Ginny pleasantly said.

The men exchanged glances.

At long last, Cornelius Fudge, "Hullo, little girl."

Ginny's nostrils flared but she maintained her smile.

One of the other workers hesitated and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"This is my house," Ginny cheerfully replied, "What are you doing here, Minister?"

Fudge looked as if he had swallowed a lemon.

He ignored Ginny's question and asked, "_Is_ it your house?"

"Yes," Ginny evenly said, "It is."

"Your family seems to be gone."

"Ah," Ginny replied, "That's because we're visiting my Great Aunt Muriel."

"Your Great Aunt Muriel?"

"Terribly dreadful woman," Ginny continued, "Her house smells like mothballs. We're staying there for the summer."

"You are?"

"We are."

"Really?"

"Really."

Ginny had brought herself up to her full height and was vehemently glaring at the Minister.

"Why?"

"The dog, you see," Ginny explained, "We think that it's rabid."

She could see the color drain from their faces.

One of the men behind Fudge whispered, "A…r…rabid dog?"

"That's right," Ginny calmly said, "I only stopped by to see if it was still here."

At that moment, a large black dog charged from the thicket of trees. Drool hung from its chin, its teeth were barred, and it was loudly growling.

Fudge actually let out a scream.

The men scrambled for a moment before fearfully Apparating away.

Ginny chuckled as Sirius changed back.

"Juniper," Sirius excitedly roared, "That was fan_tas_tic!"

Ginny swelled with pride.

"Cream of the crop!" Sirius praised, "Belle of the ball! Absolutely brilliant!"

"Thanks," Ginny sincerely said, "There's just…one problem…"

"What's that?"

"We're not at Great Aunt Muriel's house."

"Ah," Sirius replied, "Yes, that's…that's a bit of a problem."

"Let's go!" Ginny exclaimed, "We don't have much time!"

Sirius held out his arm and she grabbed it.

She felt the sickening sensation and closed her eyes.

Once again, she landed on a hard floor.

She realized that she was kneeling in the foyer of 12 Grimmauld Place.

She scrambled to her feet and took a deep breath.

Sirius preemptively grabbed the curtains as Ginny screamed, 'OI, YOU LOT! WE NEED TO GO! NOW!"

"WEASLEY FAMILY," Sirius loudly added, "PLEASE REPORT TO THE FOYER. WEASLEY FAMILY TO THE FOYER, IF YOU PLEASE."

Fred and George immediately Apparated into the foyer.

"Ginny—"

"—what's wrong?"

Before Ginny could explain, her father came up from the kitchen with her mother in tow.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "You better have a good reason for making such a racket!"

Hermione raced downstairs and cried, "What's going on?"

"We need to all go to Great Aunt Muriel's," Ginny explained, "Immediately!"

"What?" Mr. Weasley yelped, "Why?"

"There's no time to explain!" Ginny exasperatedly said, "RON! GET DOWN HERE!"

As usual, her brother was lagging behind.

He finally trudged downstairs a few moments later and cried, "Blimey, Ginny, I was taking a nap."

"Oh, were you?" Ginny snapped, "I'm so sorry. I'm just trying to save our skins. But by all means, go back to your nap."

Ron's ears turned pink.

"Let's go!" Ginny continued, "NOW!"

"G…go where?" Ron spluttered.

Ginny ignored him.

"I can't go with you, I'm afraid," Sirius spoke up, "Good luck!"

Before Ginny could reply, her mother indignantly cried, "Now, wait just a moment! I demand to know wh—"

Ginny threw the twins a pleading glance and they immediately understood.

Fred grabbed their parents' hands and Apparated away. George grabbed Ginny's hand, Ginny grabbed Ron's hand, and Ron grabbed Hermione's hand.

Ginny saw the fear etched into Sirius' face and felt her stomach twist.

Before she could say anything, she was whisked away.

She landed on a plush carpet and immediately realized that she hadn't even said goodbye to Sirius. She hadn't thanked him for the ride. It was okay…she could thank him in a few minutes…after they returned to Grimmauld Place…because they were going back…they weren't going to just leave him there…

"Arthur! What on earth is going on!?"

"Sorry, Aunt Muriel," Mr. Weasley was saying, "I didn't have much of a choice."

Ginny straightened up and saw that her parents were glaring at the twins.

"Don't look at us," Fred began.

"Yeah," George added, "Ginny was the one who wanted us to come here."

"We figured that she had a good reason," Fred finished.

Ginny appreciatively smiled and leapt to her feet.

"Well, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley bit, "What is this good reason?"

"When…"

Ginny glanced at their aunt and told a small lie, "When _I _was at the Burrow, I saw Cornelius Fudge and a few other Ministry workers."

"Good Lord!" Mr. Weasley yelped, "The Minister? At _our _house!?"

"Why would Fudge be at our house?" George amazedly asked.

"Fancy meeting the commoners, does he?" Fred joked.

"He was looking for us," Ginny explained, "'Seems to think that the Weasley family is hiding out in some underground resistance aimed at fighting Tom Riddle."

"Is that right?" George asked.

"Where on earth would he get an idea like that?" Fred wondered.

"Simply daft," George agreed.

Their mouths twitched.

"I lied," Ginny finished, "And told him that since there was a rabid dog on the loose, we were staying here for the summer."

"You lied to the Minister?" Hermione gasped.

Ginny nodded.

"Brilliant!"

Ginny flushed at the twins' cry.

"What's this?" Great Aunt Muriel cried, "An underground resistance!?"

"Ah, Aunt Muriel," Mr. Weasley sadly said, "I'm so sorry."

He waved his wand and whispered, "Confundus."

The old woman looked baffled for a moment before brightly saying, "Well, since you're all staying for the summer, how about I whip us up some scones?"

"That would be lovely," Mr. Weasley replied, "Thank you."

Ginny anxiously watched as her aunt raced off.

She then jumped as they heard a knock at the door.

Mr. Weasley drew himself up and answered it.

Sure enough, the three Ministry officials from earlier were standing there.

Along with…

Ginny gasped.

"No bloody way," Fred and George simultaneously muttered.

Percy Weasley was solemnly staring at them.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Percy!" Ginny gasped.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes immediately filled with tears.

Ron reached over and gripped her arm.

Percy remained silent and stone-faced.

Mr. Weasley sadly regarded his son for a moment before turning his attention to Fudge and saying, "Minister! To what do we owe this honor?"

"Ah," Fudge slowly said, "We were just…"

He looked a bit put out; as though he had been looking forward to revealing that the Weasleys weren't there.

"Well, come in!" Mr. Weasley offered.

The dejected man entered.

The other workers followed, including a very reluctant Percy.

Fred and George glared at him.

Ginny found that she couldn't bring herself to do the same.

"You're all here," Fudge noted.

"Of course," Mr. Weasley cried, "Why wouldn't we be?"

"This isn't your normal address," Fudge pointed out.

"That's true," Mr. Weasley replied, "But we had a run in with a stray dog, you see, and decided that it was best if we moved in with my aunt. For safety reasons."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here, Minister," Fred callously spoke up.

"Yeah," George agreed, "Why _are _you here?"

"Well," Fudge meekly said, "Well…we were just…stopping by to invite you and your family to…err…the Ministry ball!"

"Sounds revolting," Fred and George muttered.

"Boys," Mr. Weasley hissed.

"The ball is in two weeks," Fudge continued, "I know that you will want to come and show your _support_ for the Ministry."

For a moment, everyone uncomfortably squirmed.

Mr. Weasley looked like he had been punched in the stomach.

"Of course we would!" Ginny spoke up, "It would be an honor, Minister."

"Glad to hear it," Fudge boomed, "Well…seeing as how that's taken care of…I suppose that we should be on our way."

He abruptly turned and walked out the door.

The other workers followed suit.

Percy hesitated before following them.

"Percy!" Mrs. Weasley frantically cried, "Percy wait!"

"I'm sorry, Mother," Percy coolly said.

"Come with us!" Mrs. Weasley bawled, "PLEASE, PERCY! COME WITH US!"

Percy paused in the doorway and sharply said, "Come with you? But aren't you staying here with Great Aunt Muriel?"

And in her frantic state, Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "We're staying at—"

"MUM, SHUT UP!" Ginny shrieked.

Fred and George charged forward and slammed the door in their brother's face.

They heard a popping noise on the other side.

He was gone.

Mrs. Weasley was torn between sobbing and glaring at three of her children.

"Come on," Mr. Weasley quietly said, "Let's go."

The group huddled together, though Mrs. Weasley was very reluctant to do so.

One horrible sensation later, Ginny found herself lying on the cold floor.

She groaned and dazedly scrambled to her feet.

Sirius raced over and hugged her, happily saying, "You're alright!"

"Am I?" Ginny muttered.

Sirius pulled back and gave her a sympathetic look.

She realized that Moody was standing in the foyer, along with another man and woman.

"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt," Sirius quickly said, "And this is Nymphadora—"

"Oh, don't call me that!"

"—Tonks," Sirius smugly finished, "Andromeda's daughter."

Ginny nodded, remembering the family tree.

Tonks was Sirius' second cousin.

"Wotcher, Ginny," Tonks cried, "Sirius has told us all about you."

"Nice save," Kingsley boomed, "Getting your family to go to your great aunt's."

"Thanks," Ginny brightly said.

"What's wrong, Molly?" Kingsley added.

Mrs. Weasley was still sobbing.

"Percy had a chance to come with us," Mr. Weasley quietly explained, "Only—"

"Only Ginny interrupted me before I had a chance to tell him where we were!" Mrs. Weasley interjected, "Thanks to her, he'll never be able to find us!"

Ginny swallowed and snapped, "I was keeping you from revealing the hideout in front of the bloody Minister for Magic! Or do you even care? Seeing as how you wrote it the address on a piece of parchment and stuck it out in plain view at the Burrow!?"

"You did what?" Moody barked.

Ginny suddenly realized why many people referred to him as "Mad".

Moody looked downright furious.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley matched his fury.

"He's my son!" Mrs. Weasley spat, "I'd do anything to get him back!"

"Anything, eh?"

"What are you implying, Mad-Eye?" Mr. Weasley coolly asked.

He had stepped forward so that he was at his wife's right-hand side.

Sirius stepped up next to Moody's right-hand side and asked, "What's _Molly_ implying?"

"I'm just saying," Mrs. Weasley evenly said, "That I would do anything to keep my family together."

"Even if it means tearing them apart?"

They turned towards Ginny.

She had stepped forward so that she was at Sirius' right-hand side.

Sirius smiled at the gesture.

"You stay out of this, Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley angrily snapped, "You've done enough damage for one day!"

Ginny's eyes stung.

Sirius put a hand on Ginny's shoulder and barked, "Yeah, yell at your kid, Molly. That'll keep the old family together."

Mrs. Weasley glowered.

When she spoke, it was with a forced calmness, "Kids…upstairs…now."

Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione immediately ran past Ginny.

Ginny hastily followed them with Sirius in tow.

"Sirius," Moody amusedly cried, "Where are you going?"

"Kid at heart, Mad-Eye," Sirius called back, "Kid at heart!"

He glanced over his shoulder and darkly said, "Besides, I've spent too much of my life dealing with an angry mother in this household. I don't fancy doing it again."

He, Ginny, and the twins entered the drawing room and quickly bowed to the hippogriff. Buckbeak dipped his head. Ginny collapsed against his feathers and let out a huge sigh.

"That was fun," Fred and George brightly said.

"Nice one, Sirius," Fred added.

"You too, Ginny," George complimented.

Sirius and Ginny smiled.

Ginny's smile deepened into a smirk as she said, "I suppose I shouldn't tell Mum that I left my books at the Burrow?"

The four cracked up.

"By the way, Sirius," Ginny yawned, "Thanks for the crazy ride."

"Funny," Sirius wryly retorted, "I was going to say the same to you."

Author's Note: This is the second or third time that Sirius has compared Molly to Walburga. I won't give too much away but this is going to be extremely important later on.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the hiatus. The end of the semester hit me like a bludger. Between final projects, essays, exams, etc. and then the chaos of moving back home for the summer, I was completely swamped! Unfortunately, I only have one chapter today. I will upload several chapters soon! I just wanted to leave this one on a cliffhanger!

Chapter Fourteen

_He was smirking at her…reaching towards her…she was falling…he was…_

_Knocking…knocking…_

Knocking?

Ginny stirred awake.

"Oi, Hermione!"

"Ginny!"

"Wake up, you two!"

On the other side of the room, Hermione's eyes flew open and she cried, "Whassgoingon?"

Ginny leapt up and opened the door.

Fred, George, and Ron were standing on the other side.

"We think that we've perfected the Extendable Ears," Fred gushed.

"They're having an Order meeting," George added.

"Let's go," Fred and George both cried.

Ginny immediately agreed.

Hermione hesitated before nodding.

The group crept down to the first floor corridor. They warily glanced at Walburga's portrait before sneaking over to the door that led down to the kitchen. Fred and George each pulled a piece of string from their pockets. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny exchanged glances.

The twins each put an end of the string in their ears. The other ends snaked down the staircase. Fred and George concentrated as they tried to listen.

Ginny's eyes widened as she realized that she had a better way.

She slowly crept over to one of the hideous paintings. She carefully slipped behind it and walked right through the wall. She then silently swore as she found herself hunched up in an extremely cramped space. The voices were just on the other side of the wooden door. She knew that she was in the left cupboard of the china cabinet in the kitchen.

She peered through a crack and saw that the Order of the Phoenix was sitting around the kitchen table. She glanced at each member before halting. Alastor Moody was staring right at her. Ginny's heart skipped a beat. Of course! He would be able to see through the wooden door!

Fortunately, Moody merely winked and returned to the conversation.

Dumbledore had pulled out a stack of envelopes.

"What are those, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Letters to Harry," Dumbledore replied, "From Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, Miss Weasley, and Sirius. I'm fortunate that we were able to intercept them."

Ginny's mouth angrily fell open.

"You intercepted my letters to Harry!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Yes," Dumbledore simply said, "It is prudent that he remain uncontacted. It's my mistake, really. I should have mentioned this last month."

There was a series of hushed murmurs and buzzes.

"But…why!?" Remus finally cried.

"I believe that this is for the best," Dumbledore explained, "Let's leave it at that."

"Let's _not _leave it at that!" Sirius angrily said, "You can't just quarantine him like a diseased animal! We're all he has! He needs to hear from us!"

His voice had risen with each word.

"That's enough," Dumbledore sternly said, "I have made my decision."

"Have you?" Sirius exclaimed, "Really!? That's funny! I don't remember making you Harry's legal guardian!"

"You're right," Dumbledore agreed, "I have no control over Harry's actions."

Sirius gave him a triumphant smile.

It quickly faded away as Dumbledore continued, "However, I do have control over the actions of the members and allies of the Order. And I am forbidding everyone to write him."

"But you still haven't explained why!" Tonks pointed out.

Dumbledore sighed and said, "It's complicated, Nymphadora—"

"Don't call me that," Tonks snapped, "And how is it complicated?"

"Tonks," Mrs. Weasley uncertainly said, "If Professor Dumbledore says that it's best…"

Sirius began to bleat like a sheep.

Ginny clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling.

"Sirius," Remus scolded, "Stop it!"

"Tell Molly to stop it," Sirius cried, "For Merlin's sake, my godson has just been through the worst experience of his life. I'm _not _going to break contact with him just because Dumbledore 'says that it's best'."

"Sirius," Dumbledore quietly said, "I need you to trust me."

Sirius merely raised an eyebrow.

"I know that it's hard for you to do so," Dumbledore continued, "But may I remind you that not trusting me has led to some rather…unfavorable consequences?"

Sirius leapt up from his seat.

Remus and Moody each grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down.

"Fine, Albus," Sirius spat, "I'll trust you. After all…this is for the greater good."

He flinched as Remus stomped on his foot.

Dumbledore's eyes lost their normal twinkle.

Ginny was confused; her parents seemed to be as well.

"Then," Dumbledore finally said, "It is settled. Nobody is to write Harry."

The others murmured but were left with little choice.

"Now, then," Dumbledore continued, "Onto the matter of security. Alastor, I believe that you had some concerns?"

"I did," Moody grunted, "Due to the fact that some members…"

He pointedly glanced at Mrs. Weasley before continuing, "…cannot keep their mouths shut about where this place is, I motion that we create a Secret Keeper. All those in favor?"

Everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley cried, "I."

"All those in favor of the Secret Keeper being Sirius?" Moody continued, "Seeing as how this is his house?"

Everyone but Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Dumbledore cried, "I."

"The motions carry," Moody grunted, "Sirius and I will perform the necessary steps as soon as the meeting adjourns."

"Now, hang on," Dumbledore hastily spoke up, "I'm not sure that this is a good idea."

"Your concerns have been noted," Moody growled, "Now…"

"I just can't help but to think," Dumbledore continued, "Of the last time that Sirius was made Secret Keeper. Let's hope that history doesn't repeat itself."

This time, Sirius was able to make it halfway across the table before Moody and Remus forcibly pulled him back.

Ginny had heard enough.

She lurched backwards and found herself stumbling backwards into the first floor corridor. The others looked up in surprise.

"Ginny," Hermione whispered, "Where did you go!?"

"Never mind that," Ginny muttered, "Did you hear what they said?"

They shook their heads.

"The Extendable Ears aren't working just yet," Fred admitted.

"But with a few tweaks—" George began.

"—they should be up and ready," Fred finished.

"Did _you _hear what they said?" Ron asked.

Ginny nodded and whispered everything.

"Hang on," Ron cried, "We can't talk to Harry?"

"No," Ginny miserably said, "Because Dumbledore 'says that it's best'."

"Well," Hermione mumbled, "I mean…if Dumbledore thinks…"

Ginny groaned and snapped, "You sound just like my mother!"

Hermione gave a start before indignantly saying, "I'm just saying…Dumbledore obviously has a very good reason."

"But what's the reason?" Fred and George simultaneously asked.

"That," Ginny muttered, "Is a very good question."

oOo

Her mother made the announcement at breakfast the next morning.

They tried to act as though the news was surprising.

"Frankly," Sirius spoke up, "I'm against it."

"Yes, well," Mrs. Weasley curtly said.

"Mum," Ron cried, "This isn't fair!"

"Harry's our best friend," Hermione agreed, "We should be able to write him!"

"Can't you do something?" Ron pleased, "Hermione and I can talk to Dumbledore and see if he'll at least let _us _write him!"

"Hey!"

He turned at Sirius and Ginny's angry shouts.

"Alright," Ron admitted, "Sirius, too."

"Hey!" Ginny repeated.

"Oh, come off it, Ginny," Ron snapped, "I don't think that Harry needs any more letters comparing him to a fresh-pickled toad!"

He snickered.

Fred and George did as well before immediately sobering.

Hermione's mouth twitched.

Sirius' face remained blank.

Ginny's cheeks flamed and she cried, "That is not—For Merlin's sake! I was eleven when I wrote…I've just been writing to see how he's doing! He's my friend, too!"

"How did the rest of that go?" Ron went on, "His hair was as black as a blackboard?"

"Screw you, Ronald," Ginny spat.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley cried, "Go to your room!"

Ginny was already out the door.

"You know, Ron," Sirius calmly said, "You ought to take a good look at the old Hogwarts motto."

Ron's eyebrows touched and Hermione recited, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."

"Brilliant," Ron baffledly cried, "Yeah…I'll…I'll take a good look at that."

Meanwhile, Ginny had stomped up to her room. She pointedly slammed the door. Her eyes then brimmed with tears and she crumpled onto the bed.

It wasn't fair!

"Juniper?"

Sirius knocked on the door before carefully pushing it open.

Ginny quickly wiped her eyes and muttered, "Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Aren't you sick of asking that?" Ginny sighed.

Sirius stepped into the room. He was levitating a stack of toast. He tapped his wand and it flew over to Ginny's bedside table.

"Eat," Sirius ordered, "No arguments."

Ginny begrudgingly took a bite of toast.

"So," Sirius calmly said, "How long have you had a crush on my godson?"

Ginny promptly began to choke.

"Sorry, sorry!" Sirius laughed, "Alright?"

Ginny swallowed and growled, "I'm going to kill Ron."

"If you must," Sirius easily said, "But I knew about it weeks ago."

"What!?"

Sirius shrugged and explained, "You brought him up a few times during our nightly tea. The way you talked about him…the way your eyes lit up…let's just say that I lived with a berk who had a giant crush on someone. Actually…"

He looked troubled for a moment before muttering, "Oh great…it's happening again…only reversed!"

Ginny snorted and cried, "What?"

"Nothing," Sirius dismissively said, "Anyway…you and Harry would be great together!"

"Really?"

"Sure," Sirius cried, "I can see it!"

He stole a piece of toast and said, "And bullocks to anyone who tries to make you hide how you truly feel. I had to live that life for twelve years and I hated every minute of it."

"Thanks, Sirius!"

"Anytime."

The two looked up as Mrs. Weasley rapped her knuckles on the door.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then, Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and said, "Ginny, I…"

"Yes?"

"I want you to help your brothers and Hermione clean the upstairs bathroom," Mrs. Weasley ordered, "Go on, now."

Ginny's shoulders sagged.

"Err…Molly…" Sirius slowly said, "Are you sure that that's a good idea?"

Mrs. Weasley ignored him and repeated, "Go on."

Ginny sulked but begrudgingly obeyed.

A quarter of an hour later, Sirius walked past the bathroom. He paused before doubling back. A smirk spread across his face as he took in the scene. Hermione was trying to comfort Ron as the latter's boogers rapidly flew from his nose. The twins were doubled over laughing.

"You tickled the dragon, eh?" Sirius amusedly asked.

"He tickled the dragon," Fred and George agreed.

"Shut it," Ron muttered, "Just shut it!"

"This isn't funny," Hermione agreed, "Ginny's going to be expelled!"

She worriedly wrung at her hair.

"Don't worry," Sirius quickly said, "She won't be."

"I suppose that you gave her special permission to use magic?" Ron grumbled, "Even though she's underaged?"

Sirius realized that Ginny hadn't told them that any magic that was performed in the house was untraceable. He opened his mouth to say so before ultimately shutting it.

Instead, he asked, "Where'd Juniper go?"

"Who cares?" Ron spat.

Sirius frowned and walked through the house, calling both her nickname and her real one.

She was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Sirius—"

"—what's wrong?"

The twins had come up behind him.

"I can't find your sister," Sirius worriedly said.

He looked around and his heart plummeted.

The tapestry at the end of the corridor was askew.

Sirius' eyes widened and he whispered, "Oh no…"

His chest rose and fell as he croaked, "Oh, God, no…"

"Sirius?" Fred cried.

"What is it?" George asked.

Sirius pulled back the tapestry to reveal a door.

A door that he had not seen in ages…

It was covered in dust.

Yet the clean spots on the doorknob indicated that somebody had turned it.

The three froze as they heard a bloodcurdling scream.

"GINNY!" Fred and George roared.

"Stay here," Sirius firmly said, "I'm going in after her."

Fred and George hesitated before complying.

Sirius took a deep breath and wrenched open the door.

He slipped into the room and quickly shut the door before the twins could get a glimpse of what was inside. He also quickly shut his eyes.

'No,' Sirius angrily thought, 'You need to find Ginny.'

And so, Sirius opened his eyes and found himself standing in the Chamber of Secrets.


	15. Chapter 15

_And if you have a minute why don't we go_

_Talk about it somewhere only we know?_

Chapter Fifteen

When Ginny was eleven-years-old, she had unwillingly led to the petrification of several of her classmates, including Hermione. And now, Ginny had a good sense of what that felt like.

She was utterly petrified.

Her body was completely rigid as she stood in the center of the hellish chamber.

Only her eyes seemed to move; darting around with fear.

In fact, her body only moved when she heard someone whisper, "Juniper…"

Well, it didn't move so much as it jumped about three feet in the air.

"It's okay," Sirius quickly said, putting an arm around her shoulders, "You're alright."

Ginny slowly turned her face upwards.

Sirius was giving her a very kind look though his eyes were shining with fear.

"We're…we're in the…" Ginny stammered.

"We're not," Sirius quickly said, "It's an illusion."

Ginny tried to comprehend this.

Yet, she could feel somebody's eyes on the back of her neck.

She nervously turned and let out a small scream.

Tom Riddle was crouched behind them, throwing her a sinister smirk.

Sirius spun around and swore.

"Ginny, listen to me!" Sirius loudly said, "This isn't real. None of this is real!"

"But it…it seems so…"

"I know," Sirius interjected, "I know…believe me…I know…but it's not real."

Ginny tightly shut her eyes but tears managed to squeeze their way through.

"Say, Ginny," Sirius abruptly said, "Have you ever wondered what Tom Riddle would look like if he was wearing a tutu and had bright pink hair?"

Ginny opened her eyes at the mere absurdness of that statement.

She blinked as she saw that Sirius' words had come true.

The devilish man standing before her was wearing a tutu and had bright pink hair.

She confusedly glanced at Sirius.

"Welcome to the chambre de l'esprit," Sirius glumly said, "Or as Reg and I called it…the chambre de l'enfer."

"What…what is it?" Ginny fearfully asked.

"It's a chamber that detects your thoughts," Sirius explained, "It then manifests those thoughts into realistic images. They look real, feel real, sound real, smell real…I even suspect that they taste real. Mummy and Daddy Dearest would put Regulus and I in here whenever we misbehaved. All of our worst demons would come to life."

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes once more.

"That's…that's horrible!" Ginny croaked, "How did you survive?"

Sirius gestured to the bizarre figure of Tom Riddle with a tutu and pink hair.

"You see," Sirius quietly said, "This room can see what you're thinking. And so we would think of the most random things. It helped…"

He steered her away and added, "Come on…let's get out of here."

"Wait!"

Ginny stopped and Sirius gave a start.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked.

Ginny slowly turned to face the demonic man. The tutu disappeared and his hair became jet black once more. Sirius watched with a mixture of awe and admiration as she stepped forward and punched Tom Riddle square in the jaw.

Sirius let out a small laugh.

It faded into a stunned silence as Ginny tightly closed her eyes. She clenched her fist and barred her teeth. Sirius watched as Tom Riddle slowly dissolved into a cluster of butterflies.

"How…how did you…?" Sirius stammered.

Ginny opened her eyes and whispered, "You said that it manifests our thoughts. I just thought of him disappearing. In fact…"

Sirius glanced around as the Chamber of Secrets disappeared. Tall trees grew from the ground and rose into the blue sky. Within a few minutes, they were standing in a beautiful forest.

Sirius amazedly glanced at Ginny.

"Fred and George aren't the only ones with an imagination," Ginny pointed out.

Sirius beamed.

He also began to think of different things. The two began walking deeper into the forest, never reaching the opposite wall. Sirius grinned as he felt the grass, moss, dirt, and leaves.

It all felt so real…

Different insects flew around them. Groundhogs, rabbits, and other small creatures scurried past them. Ginny laughed as she bent down to pet one.

Sirius closed his eyes and imagined a winding river. His eyes flew open at Ginny's gasp and he proudly realized that he had created the body of water, complete with a waterfall. Ginny reached down to touch it. She accidentally stepped forward and landed right in the water. She scrambled to the bank and began to laugh as she realized that she was soaking wet.

Sirius chuckled and waved his wand, drying her off.

He then cupped his hands and focused. Ginny smiled as thousands of tiny stars appeared in his hands. Sirius gently threw them up into the air and they stuck to the sky.

Ginny sat down on an overturned tree and glanced around.

In just a few minutes, the two had created a place of their very own.

A place that nobody else knew about.

Sirius joined her.

"Your parents had the ability to create this beautiful place," Ginny pointed out, "And they just used it to torture you and your brother?"

"Welcome to my family," Sirius cynically said.

"So," Ginny whispered, "Here we are…the man who never had a childhood and the teenager who's childhood ended abruptly."

Sirius looked pained.

He hesitated before gently saying, "Hey, hey! We were still able to make this place. If we were able to do that, I reckon that we're not adults yet."

Ginny smiled as she agreed.

The two eventually made their way back to the door. They slipped out into the corridor and Fred and George sighed with relief.

"We were just about to come in after you," Fred cried.

"Are you alright?" George asked.

"We're fine," Ginny sincerely said, "Really!"

"What's in there?" Fred curiously asked.

"It's a secret," Ginny replied.

The twins dramatically pouted and groaned.

In the end, they kindly nodded and let it be.

Later that night, Ginny found herself sneaking back over to the door. She slipped inside and saw that somebody had already built the forest.

"Hey, Juniper," Sirius cheerfully said, "Fancy seeing you here!"

He was sitting on a tree trunk. Two mugs of tea sat next to him.

Ginny smiled and sat on the grass.

Sirius handed her a mug and said, "'Beats sitting in the kitchen, eh?"

"Definitely," Ginny agreed.

She glanced up at the sky and beamed as several stars shot across it.

From that moment on, the two spent their insomnia-fuelled nights in the chamber. Sirius continued to tell stories about his days at Hogwarts. Ginny told him about how she had always wanted to play for the Holyhead Harpies and how she was thinking about joining the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and how she missed Percy. Sometimes, the two didn't talk at all. They just sipped their tea and stared up at the stars.

Eventually, the two went into the room in the afternoons, when they were supposed to be cleaning. Unfortunately, this didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Weasley.

One afternoon, her mother pulled her aside.

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley softly said, "Can we talk?"

Ginny's jaw fell open.

Her mother wanted to talk!?

Not just lecture but genuinely _talk_!?

Ginny nodded.

"I've noticed that you and Sirius seem to be spending quite a bit of time together," Mrs. Weasley admitted, "And I was just…well…I just wanted to…I…erm…"

"What?" Ginny asked, "What is it?"

Her mother led her into the stuffy parlor and sat her down.

"Ginny, dear," Mrs. Weasley sighed, "When I was at Hogwarts, I took Muggle Studies with a professor…Professor Whiteworth. He was a dashing man! He was handsome, intelligent, and always knew just what to say."

"Where are you going with this?" Ginny uncertainly asked.

"The point is," Mrs. Weasley slowly said, "I know what it's like to have a crush on an older man and…"

"OH MY GOD, MUM!"

Ginny leapt to her feet, shaking with anger.

"You think that…that…I…ugh!" Ginny spluttered, "You really don't understand, do you!? You have no bloody clue!"

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley gasped.

"Do you really want to know the truth?" Ginny hissed, "I _do _love Sirius! But not in the sick, twisted, way that you're thinking! Sirius is…is like…he's like my father!"

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "You…you _have _a father!"

"Yeah," Ginny snapped, "But in six weeks, he's been more of a father…hell…he's been more of a parent than you or Dad!"

Mrs. Weasley was speechless.

"Sirius listens to me!" Ginny thundered, "He understands me! He knows what I'm going through! And he actually cares about me!"

"You mean to tell me that an escaped convict knows more about my own daughter than I do!?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"Yes," Ginny simply said.

She spun around and stomped out of the room.

Mrs. Weasley was not done.

Later that day, she ended up cornering Sirius in the kitchen.

"I want to know what your relationship is with my daughter," Mrs. Weasley growled, "And I want to know _now_!"

"Alright, alright!" Sirius cried, "Take it easy!"

"I will _not _take it easy!"

Her eyes held fire.

"Blimey," Sirius yelped, "Get a grip, will you!? Did Ginny say anything!?"

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley hissed, "She said that you were like a father to her!"

For a moment, Sirius looked immensely touched.

"Well!?"

"Well, what!?"

"What do you have to say or yourself?"

"I…don't understand," Sirius admitted, "What's the problem?"

"I want to the meaning of this!"

"You're raving," Sirius calmly said, "I'm just trying to give Ginny a bit of guidance; that's all. She's been through a lot. She needs someone to look after her, to listen to her, to understand her. I'm not your enemy here, Molly. We both want what's best for Ginny."

"I'll decide what's best for Ginny," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "She's my daughter! And I say that the best thing for her is to stay away from you."

Sirius looked stunned.

At long last, he whispered, "If…if you think…that that's best."

"I do."

"Then," Sirius heavily said, "I'll respect your wishes. But I think that you're making a terrible mistake."

"I know what I'm doing, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley growled, "She's _my_ daughter!"

"Yeah," Sirius muttered, "Keep telling yourself that."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

Sirius was already stomping away.

Mrs. Weasley followed him and cried, "You think that you're better at parenting my daughter than I am, don't you!? Admit it!"

"Fine!" Sirius exclaimed, "I admit it!"

He stormed up the stairs.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"NO, I'M REGULUS!" Sirius bellowed, "OF COURSE, I'M SIRIUS!"

The curtains fell and Walburga started to shriek.

Sirius sighed.

He was getting really sick of screaming mothers.

Author's Note: Yikes! Drama!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Sirius was avoiding her.

Rather conspicuously, Ginny might add.

Every time she entered a room, he would quickly and loudly make an excuse to leave.

Ginny was trying not to let it show.

And yet, she kept thinking about what she had angrily confessed to her mother – that she saw Sirius as a trusting father-figure. Had Sirius overheard? Had he disagreed? Had he simply seen her as an acquaintance and nothing more? Had he grown sick of her? Had she done something to annoy him?

By the end of the week, Ginny was ready to explode. She just wasn't sure if she wanted to burst in anger or burst into tears.

She barely ate – even less than usual. She didn't have an appetite. Her stomach twisted at every meal. Sirius had made a point to sit in the furthest seat from her. She saw him occasionally glance over but he didn't say anything. Ginny's mother had taken the spot next to her.

To make matters worse, Ginny found that she was having a rather difficult time in the chambre de l'esprit. The beautiful forest was now concealed by a dense fog. The trees were gnarled and decayed. Ominous black shadows seemed to follow her everywhere…

oOo

"We need to talk."

Arthur Weasley looked up in surprise.

Sirius had just barged into his bedroom.

"Hullo, Sirius!"

"Hey, Arthur," Sirius shortly said, "Where's your wife?"

"She had to pick a few things up in Diagon Alley," Mr. Weasley replied, "Why?"

"Nothing," Sirius sighed, "Forget it. I'll just…what are you doing?"

Mr. Weasley was surrounded by different records and movies.

"Ah," Mr. Weasley cried, "I have to study these Muggle recording devices for work. It's my job to figure out how they work. They're very strange…"

Sirius bent down and examined some of the movies:

He recognized a few titles: _The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars, Rocky, Superman, Monty Python and the Holy Grail…_

He grinned and said, "I remember watching some of these with James and Remus."

His smile faded as he realized that there were so many movies that he didn't recognize.

He realized that they had come out in the past twelve years…

"They made other Star Wars films?" Sirius whispered, "And who's Indiana Jones? Why does Ferris Bueller get to have a day off? Why is there an entire club dedicated to breakfast?"

His eyes shifted to the records as he realized that he had also missed out on twelve years of Muggle bands.

He shook his head as he realized that he was getting sidetracked.

"Look," Sirius shortly said, "You need to talk to your wife."

"About what?"

"The fact that she won't let me near Ginny," Sirius retorted, "Arthur, you know that I would never do anything to hurt her. She's like my daughter…"

He broke off as he immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing.

Mr. Weasley's eyes momentarily flashed.

Sirius sighed and said, "Listen…"

"She's not _your _daughter," Mr. Weasley firmly said, "She's mine!"

"I didn't mean…"

"I think that you should leave, Sirius."

"Make me!" Sirius growled, "This is my house!"

"And Ginny's my daughter!" Mr. Weasley snapped, "We both have our places, Sirius. If you want me to mind my place then I suggest that you mind yours."

"I don't give a ruddy Wormtail's ass what your place is," Sirius snarled, "The only thing I care about is Ginny's wellbeing!"

He angrily stomped away.

"I'm perfectly capable of looking after Ginny's wellbeing!"

"Clearly," Sirius roared, "Because you've been doing a bang up job all summer!"

He slammed the door with enough force to rattle the entire house.

He sighed as he heard Walburga's portrait start screaming below.

"Well, at least we know where you get it, eh?"

Sirius glanced over his shoulder and saw that Mr. Weasley had opened the door.

"Get what?" Sirius spat.

"Your explosive behavior."

Sirius' eyes sharpened and Mr. Weasley quaked.

"You want to make comparisons to Walburga?" Sirius furiously hissed, "Why don't you look at the woman who has spent a month screaming at her kids for the littlest offences?"

Mr. Weasley opened his mouth but had no reply.

Sirius triumphantly smirked and walked away.

This time, Mr. Weasley let him go.

oOo

The shadows had grown in number and size.

Ginny's chest rose and fell as she stared at them.

"I'm not afraid of you," Ginny furiously growled, "I will get rid of you!"

She clenched her fists and focused, trying to think them away.

The shadows flew towards her and Ginny let out a scream.

She whirled around and raced towards the door.

She burst through and continued to shriek as she was caught in the tapestry.

"Ginny!?"

"Oi, it's alright!"

Fred and George raced up the corridor and helped untangle her.

They then simultaneously asked, "What happened!?"

Ginny promptly broke down.

George pulled her into a hug and Fred murmured words of comfort.

"I can't do it," Ginny hysterically croaked, "I can't fight them! I need Sirius! He's the one who knows how to fight demons…"

Fred and George didn't know how to reply to that.

They helplessly glanced at one another.

They didn't know what to do.

And so, they merely held her as she cried.

oOo

Ginny was going to be sick.

Her stomach churned and boiled.

She stared at the empty plate in front of her.

Ginny hadn't even bothered to put food on it.

She glanced up and saw that Sirius was watching her from the other side of the room.

"What?" Ginny defensively said.

Sirius opened his mouth but didn't answer.

"Just say it!" Ginny exclaimed, "Say something! Anything!"

Her parents, Ron, and Hermione glanced up.

Sirius looked pained but still remained silent.

Ginny snapped.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" Ginny shrieked, "WHAT DID I DO!? TELL ME!"

Sirius looked shocked.

"You didn't do anyt—"

His remark was drowned out by a large explosion.

Mrs. Weasley screamed.

Hermione grabbed Ron's arm.

Sirius, Ginny, Mr. Weasley quickly took out their wands.

"Bloody hell!" Ron gasped, "What was that?"

"Stay here," Mr. Weasley ordered, "Do _not _follow us!"

Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Sirius raced upstairs.

Ginny immediately followed them.

Her parents were too busy to notice.

Sirius glanced over his shoulder and a smirk spread across his face.

The four raced through the house before reaching the drawing room.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ran inside.

"FRED!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "GEORGE!"

Sirius caught Ginny and restrained her.

He wasn't quick enough; she saw the inside of the room.

Ginny let out a terrified gasp.

The entire room was covered in soot.

Small flames were scattered about.

Fred and George were lying in the middle of the room.

Mr. Weasley waved his wand and muttered, "Enervate!"

Their eyes flew open.

They sat up, glanced at one another, and promptly cracked up.

Ginny relaxed and pulled away from Sirius.

"What happened?" Ginny amusedly asked, "What did you do?"

"We were testing our latest product—"

"—for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!"

"What is it?" Ginny eagerly asked.

"Fireworks, of course!"

Ginny grinned at their simultaneous cry.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked deflated.

"Fireworks?" Mrs. Weasley hissed, "Do you mean to tell me that you just let off a firework in the middle of the room?"

Fred shrugged and said, "Well, we're not allowed outside."

Ginny threw her head back and cracked up.

She could hear Sirius snickering behind her.

"Well, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley huffed, "Since you think that it's so amusing, you can help them clean this mess up!"

She waved her wand and conjured a bucket of soapy water.

She then stomped away with her husband in tow.

Ginny groaned as her adrenaline crashed.

She really wasn't feeling well.

"I hate to break this to you, mates," Sirius was amusedly saying, "But I think that the firework has already been invented."

"These aren't just any fireworks," Fred mischievously replied, "Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs are going to have different enchantments on them."

"Brilliant!"

Ginny was going to be sick.

Her entire body felt hot and prickly.

As though someone was stabbing her with thousands of red hot needles.

She grabbed the bucket and went to heave it across the room.

Unfortunately, the room seemed to be tilting back and forth.

Ginny's stomach grumbled.

She was tired…so tired…

On the other side of the room, Sirius cried out. He crossed the room in a single stride and caught Ginny as the teenager collapsed.

"Juniper!?" Sirius exclaimed, "Ginny!? Are you alright?"

"Ginny!" Fred and George roared, "GINNY!"

They frantically raced over.

Sirius waved his wand and summoned his Potions Kit.

"Fred, George," Sirius murmured, "I need your help."

They gingerly held their baby sister as Sirius began to mix several vials together.

"What are you doing?" George anxiously asked.

"I'm making a cocktail of potions," Sirius replied.

"Will she be alright?" Fred pressed.

"Physically?" Sirius sighed, "Yeah."

He stirred the cocktail and muttered, "Honestly, I should have made this weeks ago."

He poured the concoction down Ginny's throat.

Within a few seconds, she was coughing and stirring.

Fred and George sighed with relief.

"Alright, Gin?" George worriedly asked.

"How are you feeling?" Fred questioned.

"Hungry," Ginny murmured, "Really…really hungry!"

Sirius chuckled and said, "Come on."

Ginny and the twins followed him down to the kitchen. Fred and George walked on either side of Ginny in case she collapsed once more. In the end, they didn't have to worry. Ginny was feeling better than ever.

They entered the kitchen and Sirius cried, "What do you want to eat?"

"Everything," Ginny exclaimed.

"What was in those vials, mate?" Fred chuckled.

"Several nourishment and strength potions," Sirius admitted, "And an appetite potion."

He went over to the stove and began to cheerfully cook. He whipped up several steaks, a mountain of scrambled eggs, a stack of pancakes, and an entire slab of bacon.

He poured most of it onto Ginny's plate and divided the rest between him and the twins.

Ginny eagerly ate.

"'Bout time, too," Fred muttered.

"Yeah," George agreed, "You were looking pretty thin there, Gin."

"We were getting worried," Fred added.

"So was I," Sirius spoke up, sitting down next to her.

"So was I," Ginny admitted.

"What's going on down here?"

The four stifled their groans as Mrs. Weasley entered.

"Sirius," Mrs. Weasley snarled, "I told you to stay away from her."

"He's helping her, Mum!" Fred snapped.

"Yeah," George furiously said, "Let it go!"

Mrs. Weasley gave a start, as did Sirius and Ginny.

Fred and George were mischievous and sarcastic but they rarely spoke up.

"He's been helping her all summer," Fred continued, "Ginny even admitted that she needs him!"

"And he needs her," George added.

Mrs. Weasley merely frowned.

"Look," Fred impatiently said, "I know that you and Sirius don't get along—"

Mrs. Weasley huffed and Sirius snorted.

"But," Fred continued, "Sirius is the one person who can understand Ginny."

"If you don't do something," George warned, "She's going to slip away."

Fred and George both said, "Just like Percy."

Tears sprung up in Mrs. Weasley's eyes.

The moments tensely passed.

Mrs. Weasley sighed before growling, "Fine."

Sirius and Ginny high-fived.

Mrs. Weasley walked away without another word.

Sirius let out a cheer and hugged Ginny.

She laughed and returned it.

She then broke away and hugged the twins.

"Thanks," Ginny whispered, "Really…thank you!"

"Anytime, sis!"

"No problem, Gin!"

Ginny pulled back before saying, "And I know exactly how to make it up to you."

She gestured to Sirius and wryly said, "Fred, George…meet Padfoot."

It took them a moment to register what she was saying.

When they did, they both let out a tremendous gasp.

Ginny giggled as they excitedly gushed over a bewildered Sirius.

Fortunately, Sirius was flattered.

The three sat down and began to compare mischief and pranks.

Ginny amusedly watched them while helping herself to some more steak and eggs.

She was still hungry!

oOo

"_Sincerely Yours, The Breakfast Club."_

Ginny yawned and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"Why is he just hovering there?" Fred sleepily asked.

"Is he stuck?" George tiredly added.

Sirius shrugged and mumbled, "'Best not question it."

The twins, Sirius, and Ginny were sitting at the table in the kitchen. Sirius had found an old movie projector that went along with his video camera. Fred and George had nicked the various tapes and records from their parents' bedroom. Ginny had pinned a white sheet up on the wall and they had set it up. Kreacher had provided the popcorn.

They had then commenced a wonderful movie marathon.

They had just finished their sixth movie.

"I can't believe how much I've missed in the past twelve years," Sirius softly said.

He picked up one of the records.

"Hey," Fred brightly said, "Lee listened to that band."

"Their one song was really loud," George explained, "They just screamed jibberish."

"Really?" Ginny replied, "Hmm…I suppose that we shouldn't play it, then."

"Obviously not," Sirius agreed.

"It would be disrespectful," Fred agreed.

"After everything that Mum has done," Ginny continued, "It would just be plain rude."

The four exchanged glances before glancing at the record player.

Thirty seconds later, Nirvana's _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ blared through Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

The walls began to shake.

The portrait of Walburga began to shriek.

Yet the noise was quickly drowned out by the loud music.

Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Hermione jerked awake. After all, it was a quarter past three in the morning. They practically flew through the house and into the kitchen.

They stopped dead in their tracks and could only stare.

Fred, George, Sirius, and Ginny were standing on the kitchen table, wildly dancing.

At one point, the four shuffled side-to-side.

They then turned sideways and rhythmically stepped while swinging their arms.

Unfortunately, the old table gave way.

Fred and George had the sense to Apparate safely onto the other side of the room.

Sirius and Ginny made a jump for it.

The four glanced at one another before cracking up.

Their laughter faded as they saw that Mrs. Weasley's face was as red as her hair.

"I don't…I don't even know what to say," Mrs. Weasley hissed, "What…what…?"

She wildly gestured.

Sirius hesitated before cheerfully saying, "Ah, yes! You must be gesturing to my sheet!"

He took it from the wall and held it up.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Sirius continued, "I think that it's made of Egyptian silk but don't quote me on that. Look, it even has our family crest sewn into the corner. It's a shame that it's too small to fit on the large beds. But perhaps if we enlarge it? Let's try! Engorgio!"

Mrs. Weasley cried out as the sheet tripled in size.

She wildly swatted at it before finally shouting, "Reducio!"

The sheet shrank to the size of a napkin.

Mrs. Weasley's jaw dropped.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered, "They're gone!"

"I didn't hear them Apparate," Hermione pointed out, looking fairly impressed.

Mrs. Weasley snatched the record from the player and threw it across the room.

It hit the wall and shattered into dozens of pieces.

"Err…Molly…dear…" Mr. Weasley mumbled, "I needed that for work…"

"Then fix it," Mrs. Weasley growled, "Fix all of this!"

While Mr. Weasley was pondering where to start, the twins, Sirius, and Ginny were carefully sneaking out from behind a portrait on the first floor.

"What just happened?" Fred dazedly asked.

"Sirius pushed us into the cabinet," George replied, "And now…we're here."

"Works for me!"

"FRED! GEORGE! GINNY! SIRIUS!"

"Well," Fred quickly said, "I think that I'm going to turn in!"

"'Night, Gin," George added, "'Night, Padfoot!"

The two Apparated up to their bedroom.

Sirius glanced at Ginny and whispered, "Speaking of secret passageways and rooms…"

Ginny merely smiled.

Several minutes later, the two were sitting on a tree root in the middle of their forest.

Ginny glanced around and beamed.

There wasn't a demon in sight.

Author's Note: This chapter…got weird! But I wanted to put in some lighter, sillier, moments at the end to combat the depressing moments at the beginning!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Ginny was injured.

To be fair, it had been worth it.

Sirius had found several broomsticks in the attic. He, Ginny, Fred, and George had promptly decided to race one another through the house. Ginny had easily shot past the others. She had zoomed down to the foyer where she had promptly crashed into a vase. She now sported a cut on her arm. Fortunately, it disappeared with a quick wave of Sirius' wand.

The twins flew up behind him and chorused, "Alright?"

"Fine," Ginny replied, "I won!"

"Kreacher," Sirius called, "Clean up this mess!"

The house-elf appeared next to him and growled, "Of course, Master. Kreacher would be honored to clean up the mess caused by the blood traitor."

"Hey, you owe me one," Ginny reminded him, "If it wasn't for me, four blood-traitors would have entered Master Regulus' room a few weeks ago!"

Kreacher's mouth snapped shut and he began to clean.

"Nice one, Juniper," Sirius snickered, "Come along!"

The four flew their broomsticks down to the kitchen. They hopped into their seats and began to eat. Ron, Hermione, and Mr. Weasley individually entered within the hour. Ginny glanced up as she realized that her father was carrying multiple packages.

"What are those?" Ginny curiously asked.

"Our attire," Mr. Weasley replied, "For the Ministry ball."

Sirius abruptly choked on his breakfast.

He swallowed and yelped, "The _what!?_"

"Ginny roped us into going to some dance at the Ministry," Ron crossly said.

Ginny glared at him and said, "If I hadn't accepted the Minister's proposal, he would have known that something was up!"

"Hang on, hang _on_," Sirius exclaimed, "The Minister invited you?"

"I thought that I had told you," Ginny replied, "Yes, when we went to Great Aunt Muriel's a few weeks ago, the Minister ended up showing up. He tried to think of an excuse as to why he was there. He finally blurted out an invitation. I accepted. Again, I thought that it would seem suspicious if we didn't."

"Good call," Sirius agreed, "So, when is it?"

"This weekend."

"WHAT!?"

Sirius leapt to his feet and cried, "That's not enough time! Not nearly enough!"

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen and snapped, "What _are _you going on about, Sirius? And what are those?"

"Our attire, dear," Mr. Weasley explained, "For the Ministry Ball."

"Attire?" Mrs. Weasley repeated, "What do you mean?"

"They provide the attire for the evening," Sirius explained, "You and Ginny will have gowns. Arthur, Fred, George, and Ron will have dress robes."

Mrs. Weasley sorted through the packages.

Sure enough, there was a package for each Weasley.

"What?" Mrs. Weasley gasped, "But we have dress attire!"

"I'm not saying otherwise," Sirius replied, "I'm just pointing out that the Ministry provides attire for every formal event. That way everyone will match in one unified system."

He spat out the last sentence.

Mrs. Weasley scowled.

"It's traditional," Sirius added.

"It's insulting," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "They don't need to buy clothes for us!"

"Molly," Sirius sighed, "It's _traditional_."

And yet, he saw that there was no getting through to her.

"How do you know so much?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, Sirius," Fred coyly said, "How do you know so much about the Ministry's balls?"

"Do you have a fancy for the Ministry's balls?" George wryly added.

The two chortled.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley glared at them.

Sirius was silent for a moment.

"I can assure you that I've seen plenty of the Ministry's balls," Sirius finally said, "You see, my family loved the Ministry's balls. They absolutely adored the Ministry's balls. They went wild about the Ministry's balls. Walburga, in particular, could never get enough of the Ministry's balls. Now myself, I was never a big fan of the Ministry's balls. The Ministry tries to act like their balls are big. However, you'll soon find out that the Ministry's balls aren't anything to brag about. Fortunately, the Ministry didn't have any balls when Voldemort first rose to power. And my guess is that, once they realize that Voldemort is back in power, their balls will disappear once more. I'm a Marauder, mates. Don't ever try to out-innuendo me."

Fred, George, and Ginny were cracking up.

The twins applauded and Sirius bowed.

Mrs. Weasley's glare held fire.

Sirius ducked and sincerely said, "Joking aside, I have been to many of them. My family used to bribe the Ministry at least once a month. As such, we were invited to all of the fancy dinners, events, and balls. It was horrid. I hated every minute of it."

"Gee," Fred sardonically said, "Thanks for that pep talk."

"Yeah," George sarcastically added, "I'm really looking forward to it now."

Sirius chuckled and changed his tone as he said, "It _was_ horrible. But I have to admit that it did give way to a lot of great opportunities. I never took any myself. I probably should have. I could have pulled a few strings when I was in Azkaban. Hindsight's 20/20. So, my advice to you is to make as many connections as you possibly can. You never know when you might have to use them in the future. Especially if you're trying to start up your own business."

The twins' faces lit up.

Ginny smirked.

Sirius merely winked.

oOo

"Remember to hold your head high."

"I will."

"But not too high."

"Right."

"You want to seem confident but not arrogant. It's a fine line. And remember to frequently mention that it's an honor for you to be there."

"I know."

"Thank everyone that you possibly can."

"I _know_, Sirius," Ginny replied, "You've been going over this for the past three days!"

"I just want to make sure that you're ready," Sirius cried, "This is a huge night! These people will eat you alive if you so much as walk the wrong way!"

Ginny swallowed.

"Be careful," Sirius warned, "They can smell fear! Now then, you should probably change into your dress."

Ginny took the large bag and ducked into the bathroom.

A thought occurred to her and she called, "What if it doesn't fit?"

"I have no doubt that it's magically altered to fit," Sirius called back.

Ginny unzipped the bag and gasped.

She had never been a big fan of dresses. But this dress was stunning! It was emerald green with a silver pattern that reminded her of shining stars.

"S…Sirius," Ginny called, "How…how much did this dress cost!?"

"You don't want to know," Sirius chuckled.

Ginny spotted the price tag and shrieked, "Oh, Merlin!"

"Yeah…"

"One hundred galleons?" Ginny gasped, "I'm going to be wearing a dress that's worth one hundred galleons!? One hundred! One…one…hundred?"

"Are you going to keep repeating 'one hundred'?" Sirius amusedly asked, "Or are you going to put it on and go to the ball?"

A few minutes passed as Ginny wrestled with it in an attempt to get it on.

"It's actually not that bad," Ginny finally admitted, "It's even a bit flattering."

"Well, sure," Sirius cried, "You have to show off those birthing hips to the male heirs."

The next few minutes were wasted as Ginny cracked up.

"Alright, alright," Sirius hastily said, "Come on!"

Ginny opened the door and nervously said, "Well?"

"You look great," Sirius amicably cried, "You're going to have a few heads turning!"

"Thanks," Ginny replied, "It's terribly uncomfortable, though!"

"I know," Sirius sympathetically said, "That's the price for high fashion."

"No," Ginny murmured, "The price of high fashion is one hundred galleons!"

Sirius snorted.

He then pulled a mirror from his pocket and handed it to her. Ginny proudly swelled as she gazed at herself. Sirius was right; she looked great!

"I want you to take this," Sirius explained, "It used to belong to Lily. I have its twin. If anything goes wrong, just hold the mirror and say my name. Use Padfoot, mind you. And ensure that you're in a safe location."

"I will," Ginny assuredly said, "Thanks!"

She placed it in the small purse that came with the dress.

The two went down to the foyer. Ginny was relieved to see that Fred and George had worn the emerald green dress robes that had been sent to them. Unfortunately, Ron was wearing his hideous pair of robes from last year. Mr. Weasley was wearing his Ministry robes.

"Ron," Sirius sighed, "You should change."

"But Mum said—"

"Your mother's wrong," Sirius insisted.

Ginny nodded and added, "You look ridiculous."

Ron's face turned as red as his hair.

Ginny glanced around for Hermione to agree with her opinion. She then remembered that Hermione had gotten Tonks to Side-Apparate her over to her parents' house for the evening.

Ginny wished that she could have come to the ball with them. She and Hermione didn't always see eye-to-eye but Hermione _was _Ginny's friend.

She glanced up as her mother descended the steps.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley cried, "How do I look?"

Ginny grimaced. Her mother was wearing an old, burnt-orange, dress. The collar was the wrong shape, the sleeves were too long, and it had way too much lace.

Before Mr. Weasley could say anything, Sirius interjected, "Wrong."

"Wrong!?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "What do you mean 'wrong'!?"

"It's all wrong," Sirius calmly said, "You should have honestly gone with the dress that they provided for you. You're making the wrong statement."

"I simply want to show them that I can provide my own clothing," Mrs. Weasley cried.

"Oh, for the last time, Molly," Sirius retorted, "They're not implying that you can't provide your own clothing."

"They're just saying that they can provide _better _clothing?" Mrs. Weasley countered.

Sirius didn't reply.

Mrs. Weasley indignantly huffed and said, "Well, I'm not changing!"

"Fine," Sirius sighed, "Well…good luck with that."

The umbrella abruptly glowed.

"Everyone, grab on!" Mr. Weasley cried.

"Good luck, Juniper!" Sirius exclaimed, "Have fun!"

oOo

Ginny was having a blast!

She fit right in!

Her dress was uncomfortable, her shoes were killing her, it was as hot as blazes, and her mother was sulking.

But she didn't care!

She was fitting in!

Everyone that she talked to looked impressed by her etiquette and knowledge.

Even Fudge looked impressed.

Fred and George were also having a good time. They had talked to a few important people about their inventions. One of them had even talked to them about a vacant building in Diagon Alley that was up for sale. The twins' eyes had lit up.

Mrs. Weasley was having a terrible time. Evidently, her dress had made the wrong statement. Many people seemed insulted by the fact that she hadn't worn the dress that had been provided. The way they saw it, Mrs. Weasley had not only disrespected tradition, she had disrespected the host. Seeing as how the host was the Minister for Magic, that wasn't exactly a good thing. Ron was also having a bad time. He was sulking in the corner, evidently mad that his siblings were out socializing. He had hoped to at least talk with Ginny so that he wouldn't appear to be completely alone. Yet Ginny was far too busy to adhere to his complaining. At the moment, she was bowing to the Minister of France's Ministry for Magic.

She felt a tap on her shoulder.

Ginny turned and found herself face-to-face with Michael Corner. Michael was in Ron's year. Unlike the Weasleys, however, he was in Ravenclaw.

They formally bowed to one another before grinning.

"It's good to see you, Ginny," Michael exclaimed.

"You too, Michael," Ginny replied.

Michael extended his hand and asked, "Would you care to dance?"

"D…dance?" Ginny repeated.

He nodded.

Ginny faltered and stammered, "W…would you excuse me for a moment?"

"Sure!"

Ginny raced away.

She frantically glanced around before ducking into the restroom. She crouched down in the corner and pulled the mirror from her bag.

"Padfoot!"

Ginny flushed at the urgency of her voice.

Sirius' face swam into view and he matched her urgency as he cried, "What's wrong?"

"Sssh," Ginny hissed, "Keep your voice down! We're in the women's loo!"

Sirius lowered his voice and repeated the question.

"I…err…well…"

"What!?"

"Nothing's wrong," Ginny admitted.

Sirius sighed with relief and asked, "Well? How's everything going?"

"It's going great!" Ginny excitedly whispered, "Everything that you said is working! I'm fitting in so well that you would think that I actually know what I'm doing."

Sirius chuckled and replied, "I'm glad."

"So," Ginny softly added, "Can I ask you for some…more advice?"

"Of course!"

Ginny hesitated before rapidly murmuring, "Well, do you remember how we were joking about how people would notice me?"

"I wasn't joking."

"Well, someone did!"

"Fantastic," Sirius warmly whispered, "Who?"

"Michael Corner."

"Corner?" Sirius replied, "His father must be Joseph Corner. 'Has a really high position in the Ministry – just a few clicks down from the Minister. Michael could be a great asset. I'm assuming that he was well dressed?"

"He looks amazing," Ginny breathed.

She abruptly paused and felt her cheeks flame.

Sirius looked confused for a moment.

Then, his entire face relaxed as a large smirk spread across it.

"Shut up," Ginny hissed, "Padfoot, shut—"

"I'm not saying anything."

Yet Sirius ducked out of the frame and Ginny could hear him laughing.

"Padfoot!"

"Alright, alright," Sirius whispered, coming back into view, "Sorry."

He held back a smile as he said, "So, tell me about him."

"He's in Harry's year," Ginny muttered, "A Ravenclaw. He's really sweet. We met at the Yule Ball last year and started talking. Not much, mind you. But he asked me to dance!"

"Well, what happened?"

Ginny's eyebrows came together and she whispered, "What?"

"You said that he asked you to dance at the Yule Ball? What happened!?"

"No," Ginny quickly corrected, "He asked me to dance right now!"

"Wait, really!?" Sirius exclaimed, "When!?"

"Ssshh," Ginny whispered, "Just now. But, I…I don't know…that's why I needed your advice! The twins would have laughed at me – even more than you did! And I'm not asking Ron. And I'm _certainly _not asking my mother."

"What do you want to know?" Sirius asked.

He hesitated before hastily adding, "I'm not giving you any advice about the owls and the pixies."

Ginny was caught between flushing and cracking up.

"Mum and I already had that conversation a few years ago," Ginny hissed, "Just…just tell me if I should dance with him or not."

"Well, of course you should!"

Sirius acted as if it was obvious.

"Really?"

"Yes!" Sirius whispered, "Really! Go! Dance! Now!"

"Okay," Ginny replied, "Thanks, Padfoot!"

"Have fun, Juniper!"

Ginny pocketed the mirror and walked out.

"G…Ginny," Michael stammered, "There…there you are!"

Ginny flushed and said, "Yes, here I am."

"So," Michael awkwardly said, "Would you…would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to."

Michael took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. The band was playing some Muggle song about birds disappearing when someone was near. The two held one another and swayed. They stumbled, bumped into one another, and stepped on each other's feet. It was clumsy, awkward, gawky, goofy, and one of the best nights of Ginny's life.

oOo

"Ginny's got a boyfriend!"

The twins had been chanting the four words for the past twenty minutes.

Ginny couldn't even chastise them.

She was too busy smiling.

They had just returned to Grimmauld Place.

Sirius climbed up from the kitchen and cheerfully said, "How was it?"

"It was wonderful!" Ginny gushed, "Absolutely wonderful!"

"Ginny's got a boyfriend," Fred and George sang.

Sirius beamed and boomed, "Nice!"

Ginny flushed.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend," Mrs. Weasley retorted, "She's too young!"

Fred turned to Sirius and murmured, "Don't mind Mum."

"She's just embarrassed because she didn't fit in," George mumbled.

"And apparently insulted the Ministry," Fred added.

Mrs. Weasley gave an indignant huff and stomped away.

"Yeah," Sirius muttered, "Too bad that someone didn't warn her."

Fred and George snickered.

"Now, boys," Mr. Weasley chastised, "Do not talk about your mother in that manner!"

They both hung their heads and apologized.

"Speaking of apologies," Ron snarled, "You owe me an apology for abandoning me, Ginny. I looked like a complete idiot. Ginny? Ginny?"

Sirius smirked.

Ginny was swaying on the spot with a goofy grin on her face.

She couldn't hear anything that her brother was saying.

The only thing that she could hear was a song about birds.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: How about that! An update two nights in a row!

Chapter Eighteen

_Tom Riddle was smirking._

_He stepped towards her._

_He opened his mouth and ink began to pour out._

Ginny jerked awake.

She took a few deep breaths before swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. A few minutes later, she was sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a forest.

A mug of tea was abruptly pressed into her hands.

Ginny smiled and whispered, "Thanks."

"Anytime, Juniper," Sirius replied, "A bad one tonight, eh?"

"Yeah," Ginny shuddered, "It was…he…"

She broke off and muttered, "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Fair enough," Sirius replied.

Instead, Sirius did the talking. He told her about how the Marauders had instigated an enormous food fight that had involved every student in Hogwarts.

"The Charms classroom smelled like rotten eggs for three years," Sirius finished.

Ginny smiled before yawning.

It was well past four in the morning.

She retreated back to her bedroom and passed out. By the time she woke up, showered, dressed, and went downstairs, it was well into the afternoon.

Fred and George caught her in the corridor.

"Hey, Gin!"

"Mum's heading to Diagon Alley."

"So, if you want anything—"

"—you should catch her."

Ginny hurried down to the foyer and just managed to catch her mother.

"Mum, wait!" Ginny breathlessly said, "Can you buy me some new clothes?"

Mrs. Weasley gave a start and repeated, "Clothes?"

Ginny immediately felt her stomach twist.

"Not…not much," Ginny earnestly said, "Just some new t-shirts and…and maybe a new pair of trousers? And maybe…maybe a new set of robes? Well, not _new _of course…you can get them at that secondhand shop…I don't mind…I just…"

"What's wrong with the clothes you have now?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"My pants are so tight that they're chafing," Ginny explained, "And my shirts have become more like crop-tops!"

She grinned but Mrs. Weasley didn't return the smile.

Ginny's smile faded and she mumbled, "And my robes are all up to my knees."

"Not a problem—"

Ginny brightened.

"—I'll just use some extending charms on them when I return," Mrs. Weasley finished.

And just like that, Ginny's heart sank again.

"They can't take another expansion charm," Ginny tried to explain, "They're already fraying as it is. They'll rip! And so will my shirts and trousers!"

"Then we'll patch up the holes!"

"But—"

"That's enough, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "You're asking for too much."

Ginny bit her lip but remained silent.

"She's asking for clothes."

The two turned.

Sirius was leaning against the wall, his arms folded.

Ginny immediately smiled and Mrs. Weasley immediately scowled.

"That doesn't seem like too much to me," Sirius continued, "In fact, it seems pretty damn reasonable."

"With all due respect, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley bit, "You have no idea what our financial situation is at the moment so if you could please—"

"My offer still stands," Sirius quietly interjected.

Mrs. Weasley looked affronted, as if Sirius had slapped her.

"No," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "We do not take charity!"

"It's not charity!" Sirius argued, straightening up, "I'm more than willing to—"

"No!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "And that's the last I want to hear of it. Ginny, I'll mend your clothes when I get back!"

She turned and Ginny cried, "Fine! Just don't come crying to me when you get a note from Hogwarts because everyone can see my arse through the holes in my trousers!"

Sirius threw his head back and cracked up.

Mrs. Weasley indignantly huffed and slammed the door behind her.

Walburga's curtains fell and the portrait began to shriek.

Sirius quickly fixed them.

Meanwhile, Ginny had started back upstairs. Her face was prickling.

"Juniper," Sirius called.

Ginny ignored him.

"Ginny!"

"Forget it," Ginny sighed, "She's right."

"No, she—"

"She is," Ginny insisted, whirling around, "It's selfish to ask her to spend money on me."

Sirius looked pained.

She sighed and added, "Though, I do wish that they had spent some of their Daily Prophet winnings on new clothes for us."

"Oh, yeah!" Sirius exclaimed, "I remember seeing an article about that! In fact, that photo was how I recognized Wormtail! Hang…hang on…you lot were in Egypt weren't you?"

Ginny nodded.

"Why?" Sirius bewilderedly asked.

Ginny shrugged and said, "Mum and Dad took us there to visit Bill. Like I said, I wish that they had set some money aside so that we could have new clothes. Is…is that selfish?"

"No, it's not selfish!" Sirius yelped, "It's downright sensible!"

Ginny wasn't sure.

She was still pondering the question an hour later. She wandered aimlessly around the corridors of the gloomy house.

"Hey, Juniper."

Ginny turned and gave a start.

A tall, lanky, man was standing behind her. His golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He gave her a crooked smile and winked.

"S…Sirius?" Ginny whispered.

"Not bad, eh?" Sirius cheerfully said, "Moody gave everyone in the Order a huge stash of Polyjuice Potion and some spare hairs in case we had to go on a mission incognito."

"Brilliant," Ginny cried, "Are you off to a mission now?"

"Something like that," Sirius replied, "Fancy a shopping spree?"

"What?" Ginny gasped.

"I need to get out of the house," Sirius explained, "You need some new clothes. So…"

"I…I can't!" Ginny spluttered, "I don't have any money."

"That's why I'm buying," Sirius remarked, "I rarely say this but being a Black does have some advantages – especially when you're the last of them."

"Sirius, I can't!" Ginny pressed, "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Then, don't ask," Sirius gently said, "But, I'm doing it anyway."

He held out his arm and Ginny reluctantly took it.

She felt the horrid sensation of Side-Apparation.

"OOF!"

She landed on an unforgiving cobblestone road. Ginny straightened up and saw that they were standing next to Gringotts.

She nervously followed Sirius through the double-doors.

Sirius turned to the nearest goblin and formally said, "Greetings. I would like a private room with an accountant."

"Certainly."

They were led into a small room, where they patiently waited at a table. Ginny looked around as she realized that the marble walls were trimmed with gold-leaf.

A goblin entered and carefully surveyed the duo.

At long last, he said, "I am Gnok."

Then, Sirius did something quite remarkable. He leapt to his feet, put one hand on his chest, and stiffly put the other one behind his back.

He then dipped into a low bow and formally said, "Greetings, Gnok. May your wealth be bountiful for years to come."

The goblin looked surprised before bowing back.

Sirius straightened and turned to Ginny.

She quickly blinked before jumping up and repeating what Sirius had done.

Sirius gave her a small nod of approval.

The goblin did as well.

Ginny swelled with pride.

"Welcome to Gringotts, Mister Black," Gnok formally said.

Ginny gasped and whispered, "He…he knows…"

"Of course he does," Sirius calmly said, "Goblins' intellect are vastly superior to humans; he can see right through the disguise."

Gnok seemed pleased by Sirius' statement.

"Isn't that bad?" Ginny nervously whispered.

"Nah," Sirius replied, "Goblins don't take sides in human matters. As far as he's concerned, I'm just another paying customer. Is that correct?"

He turned to Gnok who nodded and said, "Keyword being _paying_."

"I need you to personally retrieve one thousand galleons from my vault," Sirius quietly said, "I would retrieve it myself but that waterfall was a bit tricky last time."

Ginny felt faint.

_One thousand_ _galleons_!?

"You may keep a 20% tip," Sirius added.

The goblin's face broke out into a smirk and he said, "Certainly, Mister Black."

Sirius handed him his key and a lightweight, expanding, wallet.

The goblin quickly walked away.

"Twelve…twelve hundred galleons?" Ginny gasped, "Blimey, Sirius…"

She ran a hand over her face and mumbled, "That's about…oh…twelve hundred times the amount that we have in our vault…and you're practically throwing it away!"

"I'm not throwing it away," Sirius firmly said, "I'm spending it on a worthy cause."

Gnok returned with his wallet and key. Sirius pocketed both, formally thanked the goblin, and whisked Ginny away. Ginny was rather grateful – there was something about the goblin's sinister smile that caused her skin to crawl.

Sirius saw her shiver and said, "They're not all bad, really. A few of them are rather nasty but most of them are alright. They just have an…err…different outlook on life."

Once they were back outside, Ginny nervously said, "Sirius, if my mum catches us…"

After all, _she_ still looked the same.

"Oh, we're not staying here," Sirius quickly said.

He held out his arm and Ginny quizzically took it.

This time, the feeling wasn't quite as bad.

It also helped that they landed on grass.

Ginny stood up and curiously looked around.

They were standing in a beautiful courtyard. A fountain was nearby and several children were tossing coins into the water. A few elderly wizards and witches were sitting on the benches.

Ginny glanced at the arches and her eyebrows shot to her hairline.

Each arch had a different sign over it. People were walking beneath the arches and completely disappearing! Likewise, people were abruptly appearing in the archway and walking back through the courtyard.

"Welcome to La Cour," Sirius cheerfully said, "France's magical shopping area."

Ginny gave him a quizzical look and he added, "What? Did you think that everyone in the world went to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade?"

She flushed and asked, "What are the arches?"

"Most of them are stores," Sirius explained, "A few are restaurants. That one right there leads back to a small café in Paris. Right now, I think we'll try…this one."

Ginny followed Sirius over to an archway.

He stepped through and she apprehensively stepped after him.

She blinked and realized that they were standing inside a large shop.

Clothes were neatly stacked to reach the high ceiling.

They weren't robes.

And yet, they didn't look like Muggles clothes either.

At least, not the Muggle clothes that Ginny usually wore.

Sirius stopped a worker and smoothly said, "Bonjour, Madame. Cette femme a besoin d'une nouvelle garde-robe."

"Oui, Monsieur!"

The kind woman whisked Ginny over to a stool.

She waved her wand and a tape measurer flew around Ginny.

As it was measuring her, Ginny turned to Sirius and asked, "You speak French?"

"Sure," Sirius said with a shrug, "Reg and I both learned when we were tots."

Another wave of the woman's wand caused a dozen blouses to fly over.

The woman said something and Sirius translated, "Which ones do you like?"

"I…well…I…" Ginny stammered, "They're all lovely!"

Sirius grinned and said, "Nous prendrons tous!"

The woman looked delighted.

"What did you say?" Ginny demanded.

"I told her that we'll take them all," Sirius cheerfully said.

"PADFOOT!"

"JUNIPER!"

Ginny glared at him and Sirius smirked.

"These are twenty galleons each!" Ginny cried, "Twenty galleons! That's…that's more than all of the clothes in my entire closet!"

"Listen to me," Sirius quietly said, "Either way, I'm buying you these clothes. Now, we can do it the boring way, with you constantly yelling at me. Or, we can have fun. Which is it?"

Ginny stared at him before smirking.

And so, she spent the next few hours happily trying on clothes.

She tried on every single one of the blouses and found that they fit perfectly! No longer would she have to wear any of her mother's baggy hand-me-downs. She also bought several pairs of new, crisp, trousers. She even bought a pair of jeans! She then bought two blazers, a few sweaters, a few cardigans, a peacoat, a waistcoat, and a corset.

In the next shop, she bought a beautiful Victorian dress and a little black dress that she knew would make her mother scream. Sirius cracked up at the very thought

In the third shop, Ginny purchased three new sets of school robes and a pair of beautiful dress robes.

She and Sirius grabbed two hamburgers from one of the restaurants before continuing on.

In the fourth shop, Ginny purchased new undergarments (Sirius modestly waited outside), three new sets of pyjamas, and a dressing gown.

In the fifth shop, she purchased a pair of sneakers, a pair of boots, and a pair of beautiful dress shoes with high heels.

In the sixth shop, she bought a few t-shirts, including a Weird Sisters shirt and a Holyhead Harpies shirt.

She was beyond ecstatic!

"A thought occurs to me," Sirius finally said, "How are your school supplies?"

Ginny flushed and mumbled, "They're…erm…"

Sirius gave her a kind smile and led her to another archway.

"Padfoot, no!" Ginny quickly said, "You've done too much!"

But she knew that it was no use arguing.

And so, she beamed as she bought a new set of textbooks – all first edition and leather-bound. She also bought a new cauldron, a new set of quills, some new parchment, a new set of scales, and a new telescope.

By the time they stopped at a small ice-cream parlor, Ginny's face hurt from laughing and smiling so much. She couldn't find the words to thank Sirius but he understood.

"Remember this happy feeling, Ginny," Sirius gently said.

"Why?" Ginny asked, "For when I'm fighting Dementors?"

"Or other demons."

Ginny beamed.

"The potion's starting to fade," Sirius added, "Ready to go?"

She nodded and took his arm.

The two spun around and around before landing back in 12 Grimmauld Place.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!"

Ginny flinched.

A group of people were waiting for them. Her mother was there, of course, as was her father. Remus and Moody were also there. Surprisingly, Dumbledore was there as well.

"WHERE _HAVE _YOU BEEN!?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "WHO IS THAT MAN?"

Mr. Weasley grabbed Walburga's curtains to prematurely prevent them from dropping.

"Mum, relax!" Ginny cried, "It's just Sirius!"

Sure enough, the potion finally gave way and Sirius' features morphed into his own.

"We were shopping," Ginny explained.

"SHOPPING?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?"

"I mean that we were 'shopping'," Ginny retorted, "Sirius took me to a wonderful place in France: La Cour."

Moody gazed at Sirius and growled, "Are you telling me that you used a bit of your Polyjuice Potion stash to take a teenager to go _shopping_?"

"Sorry," Sirius sarcastically replied, "I forgot that I'm going to need it for the vast amount of missions that I'm always on."

Moody stared at him for several tense seconds.

To Ginny's relief, the Auror finally snorted.

Her mother, on the other hand, was not amused.

"I can't…I can't believe this!" Mrs. Weasley cried, "You kidnapped my daughter!"

"He didn't _kidnap _me," Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes, "He offered to take me and I accepted. And I'm glad that I did! It was a lot of fun!"

"Well," Dumbledore quietly spoke up, "Sirius, I'm glad that you risked your freedom, life, and soul to have a bit of fun."

"So am I," Sirius brightly said, "I think that it was a good decision, really."

He and Ginny shared a smirk.

Ginny's smirk quickly faded, however, when she saw just how upset her mother was.

Mrs. Weasley was surveying the amount of bags that Sirius and Ginny were holding.

"Just…just how many clothes did you buy!?" Mrs. Weasley gasped, "And how could you possibly afford…? We don't have…I…I don't understand…"

She expectantly stared at her daughter.

"Enough to fill my cupboard and then some," Ginny replied, "And Sirius bought them."

"WHAT!?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley cried, "How could you?"

"I am so sorry, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley quickly said, "We'll return these clothes at once! I can't believe the nerve of you, Ginny! We've raised you better than this!"

"How could you ask him to do a thing like that?" Mr. Weasley cried.

"I didn't!" Ginny cried.

"She didn't," Sirius simultaneously said, "I offered. To be fair, she put up a good fight."

"Haven't we always taught you to be modest?" Mr. Weasley continued, "Haven't we always taught you the importance of humbleness?"

"But Sirius was happy to buy them," Ginny pressingly said, "He was insistent…"

"I don't care," Mr. Weasley retorted, "You still should have been humble!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and quietly said, "A man crawls along a scorched desert, exhausted and dehydrated. A passerby offers him a spot of water to drink. But the man refuses. Is that humbleness or is that foolishness?"

Mr. Weasley merely stared at him.

"I still can't believe this," Mrs. Weasley hissed, "I can't…I can't believe this…"

Ginny's face felt hot.

She swallowed and stammered, "I…I'm…"

"No," Sirius sharply said, "Juniper, don't you dare get upset! This was an amazing day and you're going to remember it as such. You're not going to let it be tainted."

Ginny threw him an appreciative smile.

"What's done is done," Sirius firmly added, "Ginny and I were both able to benefit from today. She was finally able to get some clothes of her own. And I was able to experience a bit of freedom. And neither of us should have to apologize for that."

"Except for the fact that you blatantly disobeyed my orders," Dumbledore spoke up.

Sirius turned to gaze at him.

The lights flickered overhead as Sirius' eyes blazed.

For a moment, the two seemed to merely have a staring contest of sorts.

"Then again," Dumbledore added, "We can talk about this later."

Sirius firmly nodded.

Mrs. Weasley turned to her daughter and said, "Well, I'm not through talking about this!"

"Yes," Sirius interjected, "You are."

He put a hand on Ginny's shoulder and steered her away.

Deep down, both of them knew that this was far from over. They were both going to face consequences for what they had done.

But they didn't care.

Not really.

Because it had been worth it.

It had been one of the best days that Sirius had had in a decade and a half.

Most importantly, it had been one of the best days of Ginny's life.

Author's Note: A lot of you have been wondering where Harry is. (You're acting as though this is a Harry Potter fanfiction or something!) I've been intentionally waiting. In the book, Harry was at Privet Drive until the Advanced Guard retrieved him on August 2nd/August 3rd. Even when he got to Grimmauld Place, he spent a good deal of his time lost in his own thoughts. This escalates even more over the winter holiday. So, honestly, I don't have much for Harry. He'll be a background character who has a few somewhat major scenes here or there.


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note:

"_Howzabout an update NOW, instead of next month or whenever you thought about this story next... Probably woulda been in 2017, considering your hatred of writing!" – A review by NowImLovingIt on ._

I sincerely apologize for the delay. My _Gin and Tonic _document crashed and I had to rewrite everything. To make up for it, please have three chapters.

Chapter Nineteen

"I DON'T ANSWER TO YOU, ALBUS!"

Ginny stirred awake.

She saw two eyes blinking at her from the other side of the room.

"What's going on?" Ginny whispered.

"I dunno," Hermione admitted, "But Sirius is really upset."

Ginny stood up and pulled on her new dressing gown.

"Ginny, wait!" Hermione cried, "What are you doing?"

"He's stood by me all throughout the summer," Ginny pointed out, "It's high time that I returned the favor."

Hermione hesitated but didn't stop her.

Ginny followed the sound of Dumbledore's voice.

In the end, she found herself descending the kitchen stairs.

"—as long as you're in the Order," Dumbledore was saying, "You will answer to me."

Ginny paused and crouched down on the third step, shamelessly eavesdropping.

"_Am _I in the Order?" Sirius shot back, "Because, lately, I'm not so sure."

"Sirius—"

"I've barely gone on any missions," Sirius pointed out, "I'm barely allowed to have a say at the meetings."

"I understand that you're frustrated," Dumbledore gently began.

Ginny's frown deepened. She never liked that tone. It always seemed warm and friendly but there was always something…hollow about it.

Sirius seemed to agree with her thoughts, for he angrily snapped, "Don't use that tone on me, Albus. It's never worked. I grew up with Orion and Walburga. I can detect manipulation from a mile away."

Ginny smirked.

"Sirius," Dumbledore quietly said, "I know that you aren't my biggest fan."

Sirius snorted.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "You're a member of the Order and therefore you _will_ follow the rules of the Order. Is that understood?"

Ginny burst through the door and coolly said, "It's funny that you brought up the Order of the Phoenix's rules, Professor."

The adults exchanged glances.

"You see," Ginny continued, "The other day, Sirius told me what the first rule of the Order of the Phoenix is; what it's been since the Original Order formed."

"And what is that, Miss Weasley?"

Dumbledore's tone was demeaning.

Ginny stood her ground and growled, "Leave no man behind."

Sirius smiled as he realized where she was going.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, "That _is_ the rule."

"So," Ginny snarled, "Why didn't you ever bother to get Sirius a trial?"

Dumbledore looked as though he had swallowed a particularly tart lemon drop.

"Miss Weasley," Dumbledore eventually said, "There was nothing that I could do."

Ginny refrained from comparing his sentence to a pile of hippogriff dung.

Instead, she quietly said, "We had to do a History of Magic essay on you last term. I might not be as smart as Hermione but I do remember reading that you were on the Wizengamot during the time that Sirius was arrested."

Sirius raised his chin and said, "Well, Albus?"

"Alas," Dumbledore sighed, "It is one of my greatest mistakes. I regret that I was not able to do more for you, Sirius. However, at the time, I was much too preoccupied with—"

"—the greater good?" Sirius haughtily finished.

Dumbledore's eyes hardened.

"What does that mean?" Ginny curiously asked, "You've said it before."

Before Sirius could explain, Dumbledore quickly said, "Miss Weasley, I do believe that it's past your bedtime."

Ginny indignantly huffed.

"You don't have the authority to kick me out, Professor," Ginny snapped, "The last time that I checked, this house doesn't belong to you! It belongs to Sirius! And honestly, seeing as how this _is_ Sirius' house, I'd be a bit more considerate! He doesn't have to tolerate rude guests! He could kick you out at any moment! He could kick the entire bloody Order out!"

"Don't think that I won't," Sirius warned, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Albus."

"An interesting analogy, Sirius," Dumbledore replied, "Seeing as how your freedom lies in my hands."

Sirius let out an outraged scream. He furiously raised his wand. Meanwhile, Ginny had whipped her own wand from the sleeve of her dressing gown.

Before either one could do anything, the door opened.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley entered, casually talking to one another.

They screeched to a halt as they took in the scene.

"What's going on?" Mr. Weasley demanded.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "Lower your wand! AT ONCE!"

Ginny reluctantly complied.

"I'll leave you to think about our conversation," Dumbledore gently said, "Goodnight."

He turned on his heel and walked away.

"That manipulative old goat," Ginny growled.

"Ginny," Mr. Weasley gasped, "What has gotten into you? Must I remind you that you will treat Professor Dumbledore with the utmost respect?"

"The day he earns it," Ginny snarled.

Sirius came to her defense, "Trust me, Arthur, Albus Dumbledore does not deserve your respect. James, Lily, and I spoke to Bathilda Bagshot a few months before…"

He broke off and looked troubled.

He quickly shook his head and continued, "She told us all sorts of things about the old goat. Things that would make your heads spin. Dumbledore manipulates fools into blindly following him."

"I happen to trust Albus Dumbledore," Mr. Weasley firmly said.

"My point exactly," Sirius muttered.

Ginny watched as her father's ears turned as red as his hair.

"You think that I'm a fool, Sirius?" Mr. Weasley growled.

"I think that you have done foolish things," Sirius admitted, "Your economic situation is the perfect example."

"How dare you?" Mrs. Weasley screeched, "We can't all be born with a silver spoon on our mouths!"

"Besides," Mr. Weasley quietly said, "There have been rumors for decades that the Black family fortune was built on lies and deceit."

"Don't forget thievery and blackmail," Sirius replied, "I'm not arguing that. My biological family certainly isn't the best example of honest economic choices. On the other hand, my surrogate family is. Along with being the nicest man that I've ever met, Harry's grandfather was also the hardest working man that I've ever met. He climbed his way into a high position in the Auror Department strictly on his hard work and honest ethics. And every galleon he made was wisely invested. The Potters made great economic decisions that helped their wealth grow."

He took a deep breath and continued, "You, on the other hand, have made terrible economic decisions that have caused your wealth to deteriorate into little to nothing. And there's no reason for that! From everything that Ginny has told me, you _should _have a considerably comfortable amount of money. You have enough food for seconds or thirds at every meal. You vacationed to Romania a few years ago. You used your Daily Prophet winnings – seven hundred bloody galleons – to vacation to Egypt two years ago. Don't you think that you could have invested that money into something more important? You went to the Quidditch World Cup last year. You have an entire shed of Muggle items that you've purchased. I know for a fact that some of them aren't cheap. For Merlin's sake, Ginny told me that you purchased a classic car a few years ago. How much did that cost?"

Mr. Weasley glanced at the floor as he mumbled, "Five hundred galleons. But—"

"But _nothing_!" Sirius exclaimed, "Speaking of Muggles, I know that you love them, but that's no reason to remain in your dead-end job. I know for a fact that you've had opportunities to move up into higher positions. But you haven't. Why? Because you're too obsessed with Muggles! And speaking of jobs, what the hell are you doing all day, Molly? You're just sitting around, doing absolutely nothing! Your children are out of the house for three-quarters of the year! There's no reason for you to stay home. Have you ever once thought about looking for a job? They're always hiring for secretarial positions at the Ministry. It wouldn't pay much but it would be enough to make a difference! And another thing—"

"Pardon me?"

The group looked up.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing in the doorway.

"What is it, Kingsley?" Sirius impatiently asked.

Kingsley hesitated before saying three words:

"Harry's in trouble."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Ginny could feel the air leave the room.

She was the first to speak, "Wh…what happened?"

"Two Dementors were in Little Whinging," Kingsley explained, "Harry was able to use his Patronus to save himself and his cousin. Unfortunately—"

"He used magic in front of a Muggle," Mrs. Weasley gasped.

Kingsley nodded.

Ginny felt as though hot needles were prickling her entire body.

"This is the last straw," Sirius croaked, "Forget what Dumbledore said! We need to get him here! Now! Call an emergency Order meeting!"

"Already done," Kingsley assuredly said, "However, I'm tremendously glad that you gave me that order. That way I can blame you when Dumbledore gets mad."

Sirius' worried demeanor briefly slipped as he snorted.

"They should be here momentarily," Kingsley continued, "I'm terribly sorry, Ginny, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to kick you out."

Ginny didn't bother to argue.

She raced upstairs and burst into her bedroom. Hermione immediately leapt up upon seeing her frantic look.

"What is it?" Hermione gasped, "Ginny, what's wrong?"

Ginny told her everything.

The two woke Ron, Fred, and George and Ginny repeated the story.

The three spent the next three days trying to infiltrate the Order meetings. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. Their mother had put a strange charm on the door that sent them flying back whenever they approached. Tonks eventually pulled Ginny aside and whispered that it was an Imperturbable Charm. She told Ginny to flick Dungbombs at the door. If they flew away, the charm was still intact. Ginny did so for several hours before giving up.

She eventually retreated to the chambre de l'esprit. She sat next to the riverbed in the forest and tried to compose herself.

She emerged several hours later to the sound of angry shouts.

A smile spread across her face.

Harry was here!

oOo

Ginny was angry.

She was angry that she was angry.

She was angry that she was angry that she was angry.

She was angry that she was angry that she was angry that she was angry.

She was really angry.

And also a bit sad.

And maybe just a bit jealous.

Okay, definitely jealous.

And sad.

And angry.

Overall, she was a bundle of sour emotions.

She furiously paced her bedroom.

Ginny took a deep breath and whispered, "Get a grip."

After all, it wasn't that bad.

So Sirius had fought nail and tooth to let Harry be in an Order meeting.

So what?

So Sirius hadn't said anything about her staying, even though he knew that she was just as qualified as Harry to be there.

So what?

So Sirius had avoided her gaze when she had desperately tried to get his attention, silently begging him to help her.

So what?

Why would that make her upset!?

Ginny knew that she was being selfish. He was Harry's godfather! He was going to do everything in his power to care for Harry. Ginny knew that. She accepted it.

She sighed and sat on the edge of her bed.

It still hurt.

\- Two Weeks Later -

The forest had all but disappeared.

Ginny miserably sat on one of the last remaining tree stumps.

She had just had one of the worst nightmares yet.

Tom Riddle had been taunting her, reminding her that Sirius didn't love her, that Sirius didn't like her, that Sirius couldn't even stand her.

Ginny sighed and brought her knees to her chest.

All of a sudden, the forest sprang to life. Trees and flowers rose up from the ground and bloomed. Wildlife appeared and pranced around. Ginny could hear the river in the distance. She stood up and looked around in wonder. She was certain that she hadn't done that. Then who…?

She turned and saw that Sirius was standing behind her.

He held up two mugs of tea.

Ginny sighed and said, "L…Listen…can you and Harry just give me a minute? I won't bother you after that. You two can stay in here for as long as you want."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, "Harry doesn't know about this place."

Ginny blinked and said, "You haven't told him yet?"

"I wasn't planning on telling him at all," Sirius declared.

He pushed the cup into her hand and sat down.

Ginny hesitated before sitting next to him.

"This is _our_ place," Sirius continued, "I'm sorry that we haven't been able to talk in the past couple of weeks. Between the Order and your mother, I've barely had time to breathe."

He took a sip of tea and added, "And I'll fully admit that I've been spending that little bit of breathing time with Harry. But that doesn't mean that I don't care about you. I promise."

Ginny's cheeks reddened and she whispered, "How…how did you…?"

"Oh come on, Juniper," Sirius laughed, "My parents absolutely doted upon Regulus and completely ignored me. Reg could do no wrong. Then again, I usually took the blame for whatever he did because I didn't want him to get hurt. The point is that I know what it feels like to be jealous, to be hurt, and to be ashamed that you're jealous and hurt. And I'm genuinely sorry that I made you feel that way."

"No," Ginny sighed, "You…you shouldn't be. It was stupid of me."

"Nah, it wasn't," Sirius assuredly said, "They're perfectly natural emotions. But as I've said before, you should know that just because I'm spending time with Harry, that doesn't mean that I don't care about you."

Ginny nodded.

Sirius took another sip of tea and said, "How have you been? I noticed that you didn't eat dinner tonight. Are you okay?"

"Oh, that?" Ginny chuckled, "Ron completely burnt the chicken. Didn't you notice?"

"I lived on rats for a year, mate," Sirius pointed out, "Even Ron's cooking is a feast."

The two laughed.

"So," Sirius gently said, "You're alright?"

"I'm…getting better," Ginny hesitantly said.

Sirius grinned and said, "Yeah…so am I."

Author's Note: The ending of this chapter a direct parallel to Chapter Three. I know that some of you are going to say, "Wait…that's it? Where's the rest of the chapter?" I know that the flames are coming; I know that a lot of you wanted Harry to be involved (or at least to have a line) but I just couldn't do it. Nothing felt right. I could have just rehashed the chapters in Order of the Phoenix. I actually started to do so. But it was so mundane. I hate copying text. I wanted to write something original and I wanted to write it from Ginny's point of view. After all, this is her story. Not Harry's. We already know Harry's story. We already know what happened to him at Grimmauld Place. I want to focus on Ginny's story. Much like Sirius, that doesn't mean that I don't care about Harry's story. But for this story, it's Ginny's time in the spotlight. Again, I'm sorry if people are disappointed but this scenario was the only one that I liked.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

_Here comes the sun_

_And I say it's alright_

Ginny continued to sing the song as she hauled her trunk down the steps.

She really couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts.

Well, that wasn't true.

She could wait for her classes.

She _couldn't_ wait to get out of this gloom place.

Still, Ginny knew that she would miss Sirius.

Fortunately, Sirius had allowed her to keep the mirror. She would be able to talk to him whenever she pleased, so long as she didn't endanger the both of them by doing so.

Ginny had assured him that it would be no problem.

She was great at detecting danger.

Ginny now screamed as something heavy hit her in her back.

She tumbled forward, head over heels, wildly screaming. She slid down the rest of the stairs and didn't stop until she reached the corridor. She landed on the floor with a sickening thud and for a split second, the world was a nauseating blur.

"Ginny—"

"We're sorry—"

"—you alright?"

"—we didn't mean—"

Her brother's frantic apologies were drowned out by Walburga's screams.

And then, someone else was screaming:

"WHAT HAPPENED!?"

She could hear the sound of running footsteps. Her vision cleared just in time to see her mother race into the room with her father and Sirius in tow.

"Alright, Juniper?" Sirius asked.

He gave her a hand up and she grunted, "Fine…fine…"

Mr. Weasley frantically struggled to pull the curtains over the portrait.

"Did that third step get you?" Sirius asked, "I've tripped over it a few times."

"No," Ginny replied, rubbing a bump on her head, "I got hit with something…"

She glanced around before spotting two trunks on the floor. Fred and George were standing next to them, looking petrified. They meekly hid their wands.

Ginny snickered and shook her head.

Sirius also grinned as he realized what had happened.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley wasn't as cheerful about it.

Within seconds, her screams matched the volume of Walburga's.

"— COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS —"

"— FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS —"

"OH, BE QUIET!"

Sirius and Ginny both gave a start and glanced at each other.

They had both simultaneously spoken to their mothers.

"Ginny, what's wrong!?" Mrs. Weasley cried, clearly taken aback.

Ginny merely groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Sirius!" Mr. Weasley cried, "A little help?"

"Err…"

Sirius glanced back and forth between Ginny and her mother before reluctantly dashing over and giving Arthur a hand.

"Come along, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley huffed, "Let's get you bandaged up!"

"Mum, I'm fine!" Ginny protested.

Mrs. Weasley grabbed her arm all the same and pulled her downstairs.

She muttered the whole way, "…don't know _what _they were thinking…could have killed you…I mean _honestly_…completely irresponsible…"

"I'm _fine_, Mum!" Ginny repeated.

"No, you're not," Mrs. Weasley absentmindedly said, "Now, hush!"

"NO!"

Ginny wrenched away from her and cried, "I won't!"

Mrs. Weasley gave a start and perplexedly hushed, "You won't _what_?"

"I won't hush," Ginny feverishly said, "Even if you refuse to listen."

Mrs. Weasley looked shocked.

Ginny whirled around and stomped back upstairs.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley cried, "Get back here!"

Ginny ignored her and entered the corridor, slamming the door behind her.

Sirius threw her an exasperated glance as the curtains fell open once more.

Mr. Weasley sighed and began to wrestle with them once more.

This time, Sirius left him to it and began to follow Ginny upstairs.

"Sirius Black!"

He turned as Molly heatedly caught up with him.

She jabbed a finger at his chest and hissed, "This is all your fault! You're the reason that she's acting like this!"

"Really?" Sirius shot back, "My fault, eh? Because it seems that _you're_ always the one upsetting her and _I'm_ always the one comforting her? Would you like to switch the roles?"

Mrs. Weasley gaped at him.

"Nah, you're right," Sirius coolly said, "You've already done your part; I might as well do mine."

Fortunately, Ginny wasn't upset.

If anything, she felt liberated.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley remained in a bad mood all morning.

Ginny chose to ignore her. Instead, she amused herself by watching as Padfoot trotted next to Harry on the way to King's Cross. She knew that it was just making her mother angrier.

When they finally boarded the train, Ginny smiled as Padfoot put his paws on Harry's shoulders. Unfortunately, her mother knocked him down.

"For heavens' sake," Mrs. Weasley hissed, "Behave more like a dog, Sirius!"

Ginny stifled a gasp.

Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy were standing nearby.

The black dog quickly glanced at her.

Before Ginny could say anything, she was shoved into the train.

She glanced out the window. The dog's eyes connected with hers. Ginny swallowed and began to wave to the group. She knew that she had to maintain a calm and cheerful demeanor.

That way, nobody would know that she was internally crumbling.

oOo

Ginny was trying to keep herself together. She had put on a good show for the remainder of the day. She, Harry, Neville, and Luna Lovegood had enjoyed an interesting ride on the Hogwarts Express. She had then whispered with the others over dinner. She had been just as shocked to see that a woman from the Ministry was now the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Yet, right now, she had bigger problems.

Thus, after dinner, she snuck into an empty classroom.

She pulled the mirror from her purse.

"Padfoot," Ginny gasped, "Padfoot!"

There was no answer.

Ginny groaned and whispered, "Padfoot, please! Please, please, answer! Padfoot!"

His face appeared and he quickly said, "I'm here, I'm here! Are you okay?"

"Forget about me," Ginny immediately whispered, "Are _you _okay?"

"I'm fine," Sirius assuredly said, "Don't worry."

"Easier said than done," Ginny remarked, "After Mum said your name…"

"I know," Sirius muttered, "Mad-Eye was nearly ready to evict her from the Order. She maintained that if my cover had been blown, it would have been my own fault."

"She did it on purpose," Ginny hissed, "I know that she did! She wanted to get back at you for everything that you did to defy her this summer."

"You will never be able to prove it," Sirius pointed out, "And you'll be going into a war if you try to do so."

"I want to talk to her," Ginny declared, "Can you hand the mirror to her?"

Sirius looked hesitant.

He then leapt up. Ginny got a quick glimpse of the chambre de l'esprit before Sirius ducked into the corridor. He found Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley took the mirror and cried, "Ginny, what's wrong!?"

"Nothing, Mum," Ginny dangerously said, "I just wanted to let you know that if you ever jeopardize Padfoot's freedom again, I will follow in Percy's footsteps."

She wasn't able to see her mother's expression, for Sirius quickly grabbed the mirror and raced away before any damage could be done.

He burst back into the chambre l'esprit and shouted, "JESUS, JUNIPER!"

"I'm not apologizing," Ginny announced.

"Why would you apologize?" Sirius exclaimed, "That was amazing!"

Ginny smiled.

"Although," Sirius continued, "You _do _know that you may have started a battle."

"I'm prepared for a war," Ginny quietly said.

Sirius grinned and said, "Spoken like a true Honorary Marauder."

Ginny dropped the mirror.

She managed to catch it and stammer, "Wh…what?"

"You heard me," Sirius chuckled.

Ginny composed herself and said, "So…do I get a t-shirt for being an Honorary Marauder?"

"Sure," Sirius snorted.

"What are the benefits?"

"Getting detention thrice as usual," Sirius amusedly replied, "And a cool nickname."

Ginny laughed and said, "Who else is an Honorary Marauder?"

"There's you," Sirius replied, "And Harry. Lily was one. Frank and Alice Longbottom were ones. Marlene McKinnon was one. Reg was one for a while. I once asked Professor McGonagall if she wanted to join. She declined."

Ginny cracked up at the thought of her Head of House being an Honorary Marauder.

She jumped as she heard several students in the corridor.

"I have to go," Ginny whispered, "Goodnight, Sirius."

"Take care, Juniper."


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note: Well, this is it! The last three chapters! Thank you so much for everyone who gave kudos, commented, or sent me messages on tumblr!

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ginny was freaking out.

She practically flew through the corridors.

She dove into a broom cupboard and pulled the mirror from her bag.

"Padfoot?" Ginny whispered, "Padfoot!"

Sirius' face swam into view.

Before he could say anything, Ginny blurted out, "Michael Corner just asked me out!"

"Fantastic!" Sirius exclaimed, "What did you say?"

Ginny flushed.

"You ran away to ask my opinion, didn't you?" Sirius amusedly asked.

"Maybe."

"What's going to happen when you're in a white dress at the front of a church?" Sirius laughed, "Are you going to run to me to ask whether you should say, 'I do.'?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and his smirk deepened.

"I would love to go out with him," Ginny admitted, "But…"

"But what?"

"What about Harry?"

"What about him?"

"I still want to be with him one day," Ginny whispered.

"Juniper," Sirius gently said, "Listen to me and listen carefully…If you and Harry are meant to be together then it's going to happen. And trust me, you're meant to be together. But you can't just wait around for him to realize how amazing you are. It's going to take him a long time to figure it out. Trust me; he's a fifteen-year-old boy. He's an idiot."

Ginny laughed.

"In the meantime," Sirius continued, "You can date as many people as you want to."

"Thanks, Sirius," Ginny whispered.

"Take care, Juniper."

\- One Week Later-

"It was _amazing!_" Ginny gushed, "Michael invited me into the Ravenclaw Common Room! It's beautiful in there! They have a balcony that overlooks the grounds! Michael set up a table! We had tea and scones! The house-elves brought them! And we talked for hours! And then I had my first kiss! It was absolutely amazing!"

Sirius beamed and said, "I'm glad."

"SIRIUS, STOP GOSSIPING AND COME ON!"

Ginny jumped.

Sirius turned the mirror and Ginny realized that Moody had entered his room.

"In a minute, Mad-Eye," Sirius lightly said, "This is more important."

"What's more important than a bloody meeting to take down Voldemort?"

"Ginny just had her first date," Sirius explained, "And her first kiss!"

Moody gave Ginny a twisted smile and asked, "How'd your mother react to _that _news?"

"I haven't told her," Ginny remarked, "Would you like to do the honors?"

Her mouth curved into a smirk.

Sirius snickered and said, "It _would _make the meeting more interesting."

"Aye," Moody agreed, "I suppose that it would."

"I'll let you know how she reacts," Sirius promised, "Take care, Juniper!"

-One Minute And Forty Seconds Later-

The screams were so loud that Ginny nearly dropped the mirror.

She realized that she couldn't tell which screams belonged to her mother and which screams belonged to Sirius' mother.

"Molly didn't like it!" Sirius gasped, "Molly _definitely _didn't like it!"

Ginny laughed as she realized that Sirius was running.

Moody raced past him and growled, "Merlin's balls! We should tell her that Ginny's pregnant and just turn her loose on Voldemort!"

Ginny cracked up at the thought.

The war would be over in seconds!

"I have to go," Sirius wheezed, "Take care, Juniper!"

-Several Weeks Later-

Ginny was in excruciating pain.

She held her hand and blinked back tears. She raced up into her dormitory and ensured that she was alone. She gazed at the cuts on her hand. They formed the sentence:

_I must not hex my classmates._

Ginny whimpered. She had overheard Crabbe and Goyle tease Luna. A quick Bat Bogey Hex had ceased their bullying. Unfortunately, Umbridge had seen her.

Thus, she had spent her Halloween writing lines.

Ginny pulled the mirror from her bag and whispered, "P…Padfoot!"

It took a moment for his face to swim into view.

Any thoughts of the pink-clad toad immediately left her mind. Ginny's eyes widened as she realized that Sirius looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot and his clothes were stained with a brown liquid.

He tried to force a smile as he croaked, "'Lo, Juniper. Are you okay?"

"Are _you_?" Ginny gasped, "What's wrong!?"

"Notttthing," Sirius quickly said, "Notttthing at aaallll."

Ginny frowned. He was slurring his words.

"You're drunk!" Ginny whispered, "Sirius, _please_, what's wrong?"

Sirius sighed and murmured, "It's been fourteen years…"

"Since what?" Ginny asked.

Her eyes widened and she whispered, "Oh. _Oh_. Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry. Is there…is there anything that I can do?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Is Professor Lupin there?" Ginny worriedly asked, "Or Mad-Eye? Or Kingsley?"

Sirius shook his head once more and muttered, "They're all on a mission."

Ginny's heart ached.

"Anyway," Sirius mumbled, "Why did you call?"

Ginny hesitated and said, "I…erm…I just wanted to tell you that the first Quidditch match was coming up!"

She stuffed her hand in her pocket so that he couldn't see it. That was the last thing that he needed to worry about tonight.

Sirius perked up and said, "Brilliant!"

"You said that Prongs was an excellent player?" Ginny carefully asked, "What was his position again?"

"Chaser," Sirius fondly said, "He went berserk whenever a match was approaching. He was unbelievably superstitious. He would wear his robes inside out and would wear his lucky socks for two weeks in a row."

Ginny was caught between grimacing and laughing.

"Prongs took losses pretty hard," Sirius continued, "There was a time when Reg caught the Snitch within a minute. It was sheer luck. The score ended up being 150 to 0. James flew up into the Hogsmeade mountains and stayed there for three days."

Ginny cracked up.

Sirius' eyes were now sparkling.

He continued to talk about James, Regulus, and Remus.

They stayed up until the sky was filled with pinks and oranges.

"Blimey," Sirius abruptly said, "I didn't realize…you ought to get to sleep!"

"I'm fine," Ginny yawned, "Really."

"Nah, go on," Sirius laughed, "Thanks for everything, Juniper."

Ginny smiled and said, "Take care, Sirius."

\- Several Weeks Later-

Ginny was smiling from ear-to-ear.

She flew her broom into a secluded thicket of trees. She then pulled her mirror from her pocket and whispered Sirius' name. It was a moment before his face appeared.

"Say hello to Gryffindor's new Seeker!" Ginny gushed.

"Hello to Gryffindor's new Seeker," Sirius remarked.

She laughed and he sincerely cried, "That's amazing, Juniper!"

"Thanks!" Ginny proudly said.

She hesitated and added, "I wish that Harry wasn't sacked though."

"So do I," Sirius agreed, "But you should make the most of it. Just watch out for Bludgers!"

"I will," Ginny remarked, "Katie was just telling us a story about something that her mother had witnessed. Apparently an old Gryffindor Chaser had nicked the Beater's bat and had sent a Bludger barreling into the Slytherin Seeker."

"Yeah," Sirius chuckled, "Poor Reg was in the Hospital Wing for a week. Still, James got the bad end of it. Professor McGonagall was yelling, I was yelling, a charming red envelope from Mummy Dearest was yelling. Reg ended up getting him back during their rematch. He put grease on James' broom. James took off and ended up slipping right off of the end!"

Ginny shook her head and wryly said, "I should have known."

"Should have known what?"

"I should have known that the story was about you lot," Ginny cried, "Every story leads back to you."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Sirius remarked, "Now, go make some stories of your own!"

\- Several Weeks Later-

Ginny was bleeding.

Her knuckles were white as she tightly gripped the mirror.

She growled Sirius' name and his face appeared.

"Blimey," Sirius cried, "What happened?"

"Do you something that can send a bunch of Slytherin girls running?" Ginny growled.

"A picture of Wormtail in a thong?"

Ginny shuddered and muttered, "Thank you for that mental image."

"Don't mention it," Sirius cheerfully said, "Anyway, use the spell _Reducto. _Aim it at the wall behind them. It will explode, causing them to flee."

"Or I could just aim it at their heads," Ginny muttered.

"You could," Sirius agreed, "But you'd be sent to Azkaban."

"I can escape," Ginny laughed, "_You _did."

"Ginny," Sirius gently said, "What's bothering you?"

"They were picking on my friend, Luna," Ginny blurted out, "I've told you about her."

Sirius nodded and said, "What did she do to warrant teasing?"

"Well," Ginny softly said, "She…erm…she's openly pansexual and…"

"Oh," Sirius brightly said, "Join the club, Luna!"

Ginny blinked and said, "Really?"

Sirius nodded.

Ginny hesitated. She trusted Sirius more than anyone else in the world. She knew that Sirius would never judge her. And he didn't – even as she told him that she was bisexual. He told her that he just wished that she could have waited until she was at Grimmauld Place so that he could hug her. Sirius still gave her the emotional support and love that she needed. He also answered all of her questions. Soon, she just had one left:

"Did you tell your parents?"

Sirius' face was unreadable.

At long last, he gave a sharp nod.

Ginny swallowed and whispered, "What did they do?"

Sirius' eyes flickered to the left but he remained silent.

Ginny heard Buckbeak squawk behind him. That meant that Sirius was in the drawing room. He had reflexively looked towards the tapestry.

Or more specifically, the burn-mark that had once been his name.

Ginny paled.

"But don't worry," Sirius quickly said, "That won't happen to you."

"But…but what if it does!?" Ginny cried, "Oh, Merlin…"

"Juniper—"

"I…I can't…" Ginny gasped, "I can't ever tell them…"

"Ginny," Sirius firmly said, "Listen to me…"

She reluctantly made eye-contact.

"My parents were spawns of the Devil," Sirius quietly explained, "They were the worst people that you could ever imagine…they were filled with nothing but hate and disgust. Your parents are nothing compared to mine. They have their flaws, sure, but they still love you and I guarantee that that will _never _change."

"Are you saying that I should tell them?" Ginny whispered.

Sirius shook his head and said, "I can't tell you that. Only you can decide whether or not you want to tell them. But I will say that there's no reason to be afraid."

Ginny wasn't so sure.

There was a ware brewing.

And only a fool wouldn't be afraid.

-One Week Later-

Ginny was sitting in the forest. She could see the various animals. She could hear the roar of the river. She could feel the earth beneath her feet.

"Miss Weasley?"

Ginny jerked and cried, "Yes, Professor?"

Professor Binns peered down at her and drawled, "Can you please tell us the year of the Mountain Troll Invasion of London?"

"Erm…1834?" Ginny uncertainly said.

"That is incorrect," Professor Binns replied, "The answer is 1843."

The ghost continued to drone on about the importance of precise dates.

"Ginny?"

Ginny gasped as her name rang out from her bag.

"Ginny? Are you there? Ginny?"

"Arthur, give it here!"

"How does this thing work?"

"For Merlin's sake! You're going to break it!"

"Professor," Ginny exclaimed, "I have to use the restroom! Medical emergency!"

She grabbed her bag and raced out of the classroom.

She dove into the nearest broom cupboard. She pulled her mirror from her bag and saw that her father and Sirius appeared to be fighting over it.

"Hey, Juniper," Sirius cheerfully said, "How are you?"

"What's going on?" Ginny demanded.

"I needed to talk to you," Mr. Weasley cried, "Your mother has been upset for months!"

"I don't care," Ginny snapped, "She deliberately tried to get Sirius caught."

"Ginevra, you know that that's not true."

Ginny rolled her eyes and muttered, "You're just as bad as she is."

She waved her wand and cried, "Silencio!"

She then threw the noiseless mirror back into her bag.

Her blood was boiling.

Her father always had to take her mother's side!

It wasn't fair.

Then again, life rarely was…

-Several Days Later-

'_Oh, Tom,' Tom mockingly said, 'You are my best friend!'_

_He gave her a vile smirk._

_Instead of teeth, Ginny found herself looking at a cavern of ink._

"Miss Weasley, wake up!"

Ginny stirred awake.

Professor McGonagall was standing at her bedside.

"Professor?" Ginny yawned, "What…?"

"Your father has been injured."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

It was raining in the forest.

Ginny was sitting near the swollen river. Her knees were drawn to her chest. They had just gotten back from St. Mungo's. Ginny felt a lump form in her throat.

"Juniper?"

Ginny's heart skipped a beat.

Sirius apologized and sat down next to her.

"I was just talking to Moody," Sirius quietly said, "Your father's going to make a full recovery! He should be home within a few weeks."

"That's great."

Sirius frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Juniper…"

Ginny swallowed and croaked, "Sirius, I…I was so…so mean to him…"

"Hey, hey!"

Sirius pulled her into a hug and whispered, "It's okay."

Ginny was still plagued with guilt.

As such, she didn't put up a fight when her mother told her to clean the feathers from the dressing room. She tried to be on her best behavior all throughout the holiday. She cheered with the others when Mr. Weasley was released from the hospital.

Yet one day, she couldn't stop herself.

Her mother, Ginny, and Sirius were the last ones in the kitchen. Ginny was enjoying the rest of her bacon.

"Hurry up, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley ordered, "We have an Order meeting soon."

"Can I join?" Ginny immediately said.

Sirius opened his mouth but Mrs. Weasley answered first, "No!"

"But, Mum," Ginny cried, "The Order needs all of the help that it can get!"

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"No, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "You're not fighting and that's final!"

Ginny's jaw trembled but her eyes blazed with a passionate fire.

"Come on, Molly," Sirius bracingly said.

"NO!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "And you keep out of this! She's only fourteen! She's too young!"

"Remus and I were ready to fight when we were her age," Sirius pointed out, "As were James and Lily."

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "And look at how well that turned out for them!"

"MUM!" Ginny shrieked.

Sirius reeled back, as if he had been slapped.

"I'm not sorry," Mrs. Weasley firmly said, "They were fools to join the war at such a young age."

Ginny stepped forward and growled, "Like Uncles Gideon and Fabian?"

Mrs. Weasley's eyes blazed.

For a split second, she looked dangerous.

Sirius crossed the room in a single stride and leapt in front of Ginny. It had been a reflexive move. His own eyes held a fire that was inextinguishable; a fire that had existed for decades. Ginny suddenly realized that this wasn't the first time that he ever protected a child in Grimmauld Place from an irate mother. Her mother was realizing the same thing.

Mrs. Weasley staggered backwards before abruptly racing away.

Ginny also raced away.

Sirius hesitated before making a bold decision. He followed Mrs. Weasley. He had had quite enough of her nonsense. He wasn't going to hold anything back!

His fist pounded against the door of the master bedroom. It swung open. Sirius saw that Mrs. Weasley was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her face was in her hands.

And in that moment, Sirius felt a rush of pride and respect for the weeping woman.

He walked over and sat next to her.

"You…know…that…I…love…my…children," Mrs. Weasley bawled.

"I know," Sirius gently said.

"And…you know that…I…I would never…ever…hurt them…"

"I know."

Mrs. Weasley tearfully blinked as she registered what he had said.

She looked up and croaked, "You know?"

"Yeah," Sirius warmly said, "I do."

He pulled out his handkerchief and handed it over.

Mrs. Weasley gratefully accepted and dabbed her eyes.

She took a deep breath and said, "I dreamed of your mother the other night."

Sirius made a face and muttered, "You know, James once said the exact same thing. I was ready to murder the bastard."

She let out a bubble of laughter and Sirius proudly smiled.

"Not that like," Mrs. Weasley weakly said, "It was a nightmare…I was yelling and screaming and my children were…were cowering in fear…and…and the reason why I was yelling was because…because I wanted to know where this…this _mirror_ had come from…It was right in front of me, you see…and I…I remember finally looking into it…and I saw…I saw her…I saw your mother screaming and I just…I…"

"Molly, listen to me," Sirius interjected, "You are _not_ Walburga."

Mrs. Weasley's jaw trembled.

"You're not," Sirius firmly said, "Not even close."

He put his hand over hers and admitted, "I'm not going to lie – you have your flaws…"

Mrs. Weasley's shoulders fell.

"But," Sirius continued, "You more than make up for them."

"Wh…what do you mean?"

"Molly, my mother…my mother wouldn't have stopped," Sirius explained, "She wouldn't have walked away. And she _certainly _wouldn't have been as torn up as you are. She wouldn't have shed a single tear."

He squeezed her hand and gently said, "You love your children. And that's way more that can be said of her. And that's your saving grace, Molly. You may make mistakes. But you still _try_. You _try_ to be a good mother. And, really, that's enough to make you one."

Once again, Mrs. Weasley's eyes were filled with tears.

And yet, she was smiling.

She pulled Sirius into a tight hug and Sirius returned it.

He finally pulled back and mumbled, "I'd be proud to call you my mum."

"Oh, shut up," Mrs. Weasley warmly replied, "I'm only ten years older than you!"

"Really?" Sirius cried, feigning surprise, "_Only _ten!?"

He laughed and ducked as she swatted at him.

"Do you think that Alastor would mind pushing the meeting back?" Mrs. Weasley whispered, "I'd like to spend time with my family."

Sirius then made his way to the other Weasley female's room. He paused as he realized that Ginny was throwing everything into her trunk.

"Hey, Juniper."

Ginny slammed the trunk of her lid and muttered, "Hey, Sirius."

"Going somewhere?" Sirius quietly asked.

"I'm leaving…"

"Juniper…"

"Will you help me carry this downstairs?"

"Ginny," Sirius sighed, "Listen to me…"

Ginny set her jaw but allowed him to speak.

"You're making a mistake," Sirius simply said.

"What!?"

"You can't run away."

"You did!"

"And I had a good reason to do so!"

He sat on her bed and she apprehensively joined him.

"Ginny, listen," Sirius softly said, "Your situation is nothing like mine was."

"But…"

"Please, listen," Sirius interjected, "We share many similar demons, Ginny. As far as evil parents go, however, I think that I may have a few more than you. My parents were…they were just terrible…no words can describe how terrible they were. They didn't love me. They didn't care about me. Hell, they frequently hurt me! They hit me…they hexed me…they did things that no decent person should ever do…let alone your parents…"

He shuddered before continuing, "Your parents are very flawed."

Ginny snorted.

"But," Sirius added, "They still love you."

"I…I know…but…"

"They still care about you."

"I _know_ but…"

"And though they might not understand you," Sirius finished, "They're still trying."

Ginny swallowed.

At long last, she whispered, "N…no…I can't…"

Sirius reluctantly sighed.

"Can you grab my trunk?" Ginny asked.

"Sure."

Ginny spun on her heel and walked away. She didn't look back. Sirius warily followed her. Ginny descended the stairs and walked past the parlor.

She stopped and turned.

The door was wide open. Her family, Harry, and Hermione were sitting around the crackling fire. Fred and George were showing off their prototype fireworks. Harry and Ron were making bets as to which twin would be injured first. Hermione was eagerly listening as the twins explained the science that went behind making each firework. Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley gasped with delight as the twins detonated a small one. It filled the entire room with color.

Ginny leaned against the doorway.

There was a lump in her throat and a smile on her face.

"Ready to go?" Sirius softly asked.

"I can't."

"Hm?"

"I can't," Ginny croaked, "They're…they're my family."

She wiped her eyes and mumbled, "Sirius, would you mind taking my trunk back up?"

She turned and saw that Sirius was smiling.

"I never brought it down," Sirius gently said.

The two tightly hugged.

They then entered the parlor and joined the happy family. Ginny sat on the arm of the couch, next to her mother. The two didn't say anything, though they did share a smile. Sirius ducked as Fred accidentally launched a firework towards his head. Fred was immensely apologetic, until Sirius threw a sparkler at him. The family was soon in an all-out war! Sirius pulled out his camcorder and it caught everything. Hermione ended up winning. Mrs. Weasley ultimately invited everyone to the kitchen for tea.

Sirius pulled Ginny aside and whispered, "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm feeling a lot better," Ginny laughed, "It's just…"

She broke off.

"Just what?" Sirius asked.

"I just wish that they could understand," Ginny admitted, "They understand that they don't understand. And maybe that's enough. But sometimes…sometimes I wish that they knew what I saw every night when I close my eyes. I wish that they…that they knew about the demons that I had to face…the demons that I still face…I…I wish that there was a way to show them…"

A mischievous expression crossed Sirius' face.

"What?" Ginny quickly asked, "What is it?"

Sirius' eyes sparkled and he whispered, "Maybe there is…"


	24. Chapter 24

Tom Riddle was standing in front of her.

Ginny's jaw trembled. She felt Sirius' hand on her shoulder.

Her family gasped at the sight of the horrible man.

"Bloody hell," Ron croaked, "What _is _this place?"

"Welcome to chambre de l'esprit," Sirius softly said.

The Weasleys all glanced at one another.

"Juniper," Sirius added, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Ginny nodded. Sirius cautiously stepped back to let her concentrate. Ginny continued to think about that terrible first year at Hogwarts. The memories sprung up around the group.

_Ginny was writing in the diary…_

_Something was wrong…_

_Ginny was writhing in pain…_

_She was collapsing…_

_And then, she was standing up again…_

_But her eyes were unfocused…_

_She walked like a puppet…_

_She opened the Chamber of Secrets…_

_She watched as the green monster slid past her…_

_She didn't look it in the eyes…_

_She didn't look it in the eye…_

_She was dipping her fingers in rooster blood…_

_She was writing words on the wall…_

_She was fighting…_

_She was losing…_

_She was having terrible nightmares…_

_She was scared…_

_She was so scared…_

_Her finger were bloody once more…_

_She was writing her own death note…_

_She was trying to fight…_

_Trying…_

_He was laughing at her…_

_Mocking her…_

_She was falling…_

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

Mrs. Weasley was sobbing. Mr. Weasley was wiping tears from his own eyes. Fred and George looked as though they had been punched. Ron looked as though he was going to faint.

Ginny was shaking.

Sirius reached over.

He then hesitated and stepped back.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in his spot in an instant.

Sirius proudly smiled as they tightly embraced their daughter.

Ginny looked surprised for a moment before melting in their embrace. Fred and George also raced over and joined in the hug. Ron squeezed past them and tightly held his sister.

"Oh, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley sobbed, "I'm so sorry."

"I never knew," Mr. Weasley croaked, "Oh, God…I never knew…"

"I've been a right prat," Ron whispered, "After everything that you've been through."

Fred and George remained silent but tightened their embrace.

It was Ron who finally asked, "Can you ever forgive us?"

"Yes," Ginny blurted out, "Yes, I forgive you!"

Tears were streaming down her own cheeks.

"You're my family," Ginny whispered, "Of course I'll forgive you!"

Mrs. Weasley let out another sob.

"We love you, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley lovingly said, "We love you so much…"

Sirius was beaming.

He had stepped to the side, proudly watching as the family embraced.

He knew that they still had a long way to go to mend.

But they would get there.

And no matter what, he knew that the Weasleys had something that the Blacks didn't.

The Weasleys had love.

oOo

Ginny was the happiest that she had been in years.

Still, something was nagging at the back of her mind.

As such, she set out to find Sirius.

She roamed the corridors of Grimmauld Place.

She passed the dressing room and heard Sirius say, "Listen to me, Arthur…there will come a time when Ginny's going to want to talk to you about something. You and Molly both."

"What?"

"I can't tell you that," Sirius replied, "But I will tell you that she's going to be scared to death when she tells you. And when that day comes, you need to be there for her. And you need to _tell _her that you're there for her. Give her an endless amount of support. And give her an endless amount of love."

Ginny beamed.

Her father walked out and said, "Hullo, Ginny!"

Ginny hugged him and whispered, "Hi, Dad! Are you feeling better?"

"I am!" Mr. Weasley happily said, "Are you?"

"Yeah," Ginny whispered, "I am."

"Good," Mr. Weasley cried, "You know…your mother and I are always here…"

"I know, Dad," Ginny replied, "Thanks!"

Mr. Weasley nodded and walked away.

Ginny ducked into the drawing room and smiled.

Sirius was lying against Buckbeak.

"Hey, Juniper," Sirius cheerfully said.

"Hi, Sirius," Ginny whispered, "Can…can you do me a favor?"

"Of course," Sirius immediately said, "Anything."

A few minutes later, Ginny found herself staring down at a blank piece of parchment. She dipped her quill in the ink. She took a deep breath and wrote the words:

_Dear Tom,_

Ginny paused.

"Take your time," Sirius whispered.

Ginny hesitated before continuing to write.

She felt a knot in her stomach loosen with each word.

At long last, she set down her quill and blinked at the parchment.

_Dear Tom,_

_You took away my childhood. You took away my innocence. You took a part of me that I will never be able to get back. I will never be able to forgive you for that. Never._

_But I wanted to tell you that I'm not afraid of you anymore._

_And you will never be able to hurt me again._

Her jaw trembled and she nodded at Sirius.

Sirius nodded back.

He slowly withdrew his wand and tapped the parchment.

A flame leapt up in the middle and began to spread to the ends, eating the words.

The last word was his name.

Ginny watched as it dissolved into smoke.

"It's gone," Sirius gently said, "He's gone."

And a few moments later, the Weasley brothers were shocked when they entered the den and saw that Ginny was sobbing into Sirius' shoulder. Sirius was tightly hugging her.

"Blimey, mate!" George cried.

"What did you do?" Fred asked.

Ron angrily stepped forward.

"No, no," Ginny croaked, "It's okay!"

They realized that she was smiling.

She was crying tears of joy.

"He's gone," Ginny whispered, "He's finally gone!"

The brothers looked confused but supportive nonetheless.

"Hey, Sirius," Ginny whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm alright."

Sirius smiled and said, "Yeah…so am I."

-EPILOGUE-

The forest was blooming.

Ginny sat on the riverbank and smiled. She had finally managed to create the forest on her own. She didn't need Sirius to help her anymore.

Still, she wished that he was at her side.

She blamed herself. She had left her mirror up in her dormitory. She could have used it to call Sirius. Instead, she had blindly followed Harry to the Ministry.

And now Sirius was gone…

Ginny stared at the stars in the sky. She knew that today was her last day at Grimmauld Place. The Weasleys were only there to collect their things. Sirius' will had been read yesterday. The house now belonged to Harry. Ginny smirked as she realized that Walburga was probably rolling in her grave.

He had left her something as well.

His camcorder.

Along with his projector and several tapes.

Ginny had tied a sheet between two branches. She now set up the projector and put in the first tape.The Beatles immediately filled the forest:

_Here comes the sun_

_Doo dodo doo_

_Here comes the sun_

_And I say it's alright_

Ginny tearfully smiled as she watched the video of her and Sirius dancing around. She sang along to the song before putting in the second tape. It was the video of her singing the song as Sirius played the guitar. Ginny wiped her eyes and continued to sing.

She put in tape after tape and watched the memories.

She and Sirius were walking in the upscale Muggle neighborhood…

She and Sirius were flying on the motorbike…

She and Sirius were shopping in France…

Ginny finally put in the last tape.

"Hey, Juniper."

Ginny gasped.

Sirius's face was on the sheet. He was grinning. Ginny laughed as the video showed Sirius dropping the camera and swearing. She could tell that he had been in the drawing room.

"I'll have to make this quick," Sirius cheerfully explained, "We have an Order meeting in a couple of minutes. But I wanted to make this…in case…You're probably going to find this tape one day and accuse me for being paranoid and pessimistic…but…well…"

His face darkened and said, "I remember how it was last time…I was never able to say goodbye to James or Lily or Alice or Frank or Marlene or Regulus…And I don't want that to happen this time…"

Sirius took a deep breath before saying, "So, if you're watching this and I'm still alive and well, feel free to hex me for doing something this sappy. If I'm not around anymore…feel free to hex me when you see me in the afterlife."

Ginny tearfully laughed.

"You're going to be brilliant, Ginny," Sirius gently said, "In the time that I've known you, you've proven that tenfold. I have never been more proud to have you as a friend and a daughter. You've helped me defeat a lot of my demons. And I've been honored to help you defeat yours. Unfortunately, more are going to come. But you can defeat them. I know that you can. You're going to be alright. I promise."

Ginny wiped her eyes and nodded.

And though she knew that he couldn't hear her, she still whispered, "Thanks, Sirius."

"Take care, Juniper."

_Here comes the sun_

_And I say it's alright…_

Author's Note: Mischief managed!


End file.
